Allison

Allison may refer to:

People

Companies

Place names

United States

Alison (given name)

Alison or Allison is a given name, usually a feminine name in English-speaking countries. It was originally a medieval French nickname for Alis, old form of Alice derived with the suffix -on or -son sometimes used in the former French nicknames such as Jeanson ("little Jean") or Pierson ("little Pierre").

The variant spelling Allison is the most common form in the United States. Other variations include Alisson, Allyson, Alyson, Alysson, Alicen and Alycen, with nicknames Allie, Alley, Alie, Ali, Ally, Aly, Aley and Alli.

Allison also has separate roots as a family name, in which case when used as a given name is traditionally masculine, and is of disputed meaning.

In countries including Brazil, Portugal and Indonesia, Alison and variant forms are also used as masculine given names.

Alison, variant form Alizon, is a French surname.

Popularity

The name is first recorded in Scotland in the 12th century. It was popular until the early 19th century and, spelled Allison, was the 45th most common name given to baby girls in the United States in 2005 (Allyson was #253; Alison, #259; Alyson, #468; Allie, #256; Ally, #656; and Alice, #414). In 1990 in the United States, Allison was the 228th most popular name for women of all ages; Alison was #347, Allyson, #775; Alyson, #981; Allie, #764; Ali, #2434; and Alice, #51. Alison in any spelling did not enter the top 100 baby names in 2005 in England and Wales.

Allison (novel series)

Allison (アリソン, Arison) is a Japanese light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. There are three Allison novels, with the third split into two volumes, published by MediaWorks under their Dengeki Bunko label. The first novel was released on March 10, 2002, and the last novel was published on May 10, 2004. There is a follow-up series of light novels called Lillia and Treize which were released between March 2005 and April 2007. There is also an Allison sound novel for the Nintendo DS which was released on December 7, 2006. A manga adaptation by Hiroki Haruse started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! on July 27, 2007, also published by MediaWorks. The manga ended serialization in Dengeki Comic Gao! on January 27, 2008, but continued serialization in MediaWorks' seinen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on March 21, 2008. An anime adaptation based on both the Allison and Lillia and Treize novels, known as Allison & Lillia, aired between April and October 2008.

Pixies

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances, but reunited in 2004. The group currently consists of founders Black Francis (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), and David Lovering (drums). Co-founder Kim Deal (bass, backing vocals) left in 2013 and was replaced by Kim Shattuck as live bass player for a few months, then by Paz Lenchantin for the band's 2014 tour. The Pixies achieved relatively modest popularity in their home country, but were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and Israel. The group is credited with having an influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s.

The band's style of music contains a range of elements, including psychedelia, noise pop, hard rock, surf pop, and surf rock. Black Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer. His lyrics feature a number of offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, surrealism, incest, and biblical violence.

Pixies (EP)

Pixies is a 2002 EP release of the (mostly) previously unissued material from Pixies' original 17-track demo tape (known to Pixies aficionados as "The Purple Tape"), recorded at Fort Apache Studios in March 1987 by Gary Smith. Eight of the tracks from sessions were released in 1987 as the band's debut, Come On Pilgrim and the remaining nine were sourced for this release by SpinART Records in the U.S. and Sonic Unyon records in Canada.

Track listing

All songs written by Black Francis, except "In Heaven" by Peter Ivers.

The Purple Tape

The Purple Tape was a demo that the band recorded in three days during their first studio session in 1987. The track listing is as follows:

Fairy (Artemis Fowl)

Fairies, in the fantasy series Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, are fictional beings, usually shorter than a human, who possess magic properties. The average height of a fairy is exactly 1 metre, one centimetre. All the fairies have retreated below the Earth to escape the destructiveness of the human race. Their underground civilization is centered on the capital city of Haven. Fairies are vernacularly known as the People, and live a life according to the Book of the People. There are 8 recognized families of fairies- Elves, Dwarves, Pixies, Gnomes, Gremlins, Goblins, Sprites and Demons. However, the centaurs have been mentioned several times, as with trolls, and the centaurs' cousins, the unicorns, were killed off, yet they are not recognized.

Races of Fairies and the eight families

The Eight Families

In Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, it is said that 10,000 years ago, there were eight families (or species) of fairies. It is possible that Centaurs and Trolls used to live not underground but above ground, and were recruited by the fairies for the war against the Mud People (the term used by fairies to address humans). This would explain the links between many animals these two species have, and would explain why they don't have magic. Centaurs are also cousins of unicorns, so they couldn't be in the fairy family without the unicorns. The fairies, however, are mostly humanoid. Warlocks are also part of the fairy world. They are extremely magical fairies that originate under unknown circumstances.