Alice came into English from the Old French Aalis, a short form of Adelais, the Germanic Adalheidis, and means "noble kind" or "of noble birth". Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, published in 1865, made it one of the best-loved names in children's literature. In the United States Alice ranked number 422 in 2000, re-entered the top 100 in 2014, peaked at number 63 in 2024 and holds number 65 among girls in 2025.