Alice

Alice is a name with a long and historic past—used for royalty, the heroines of classic novels, and a slew of notable women. It's no surprise, then, that this name, which has Germanic roots, means "noble."

Plenty of other baby names mean "noble," including several variations on Alice. Try names like Abelard, Ada, Adalia, Adele, Adeline, Adelaide, Ailish, Alicia, Alaric, Albert, Allison, Alvin, Ansel, Arya, Audrey, Elke, Elmer, Eugene, Freya, Grady, Marquis, Patrick, and Patricia.

There are plenty of famous Alices in history and pop culture. Perhaps the most famous was the heroine of the fantastical classic, Alice in Wonderland. Queen Victoria chose it for her second daughter, and Teddy Roosevelt chose it for his daughter, too—along with a slew of other princesses throughout history. Authors Alice Adams, Alice Munro, Alice Toklas, Alice Sebold, and Alice Walker are famous bearers of the noble name. And for a nontraditional namesake, there's rocker Alice Cooper (who's a guy).

In the United States, Alice was a top 20 baby name through 1930. It dropped in popularity in the 1980s-early 2000s, but now is holding steady in the top 80 names in the U.S.

Alice in quotes:

“Curiouser and curiouser!” cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English). —Alice in Wonderland

"Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness." —Alice Walker