MacAlister Surname

256,621st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,536 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

MacAlister Surname Definition:

MACALASTER, Macalester, Macalister, Macallaster, Macaluster, Maccalister: G MacAlasdair, 'son of Alexander,' which see. Ranald Makalestyr, who obtained a lease of lands in Arran, 1455, is afterwards referred to as Ranald Alexandri, Reginald McAlestir (or McAlestere, or McAlestre) (ER.

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MacAlister Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4641:781,16160,501
Scotland2541:21,0782,435
England2341:238,11119,599
Australia1801:149,97615,919
New Zealand1591:28,4804,971
Canada1491:247,28623,510
Malaysia231:1,282,35854,976
South Africa181:3,009,872112,058
France151:4,428,181244,602
Russia81:18,015,382436,635
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
Germany31:26,835,153452,368
Kazakhstan21:8,841,248174,813
Colombia21:23,887,03632,612
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Brazil21:107,037,1661,031,150
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Sweden11:9,846,757347,448
Uruguay11:3,431,75838,295
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Wales11:3,094,53244,023
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Malta11:430,2723,380
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Gabon11:1,889,1946,814
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland361:123,0527,230
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States311:1,619,95885,073

MacAlister (75) may also be a first name.

MacAlister Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

MACALASTER, Macalester, Macalister, Macallaster, Macaluster, Maccalister: G MacAlasdair, 'son of Alexander,' which see. Ranald Makalestyr, who obtained a lease of lands in Arran, 1455, is afterwards referred to as Ranald Alexandri, Reginald McAlestir (or McAlestere, or McAlestre) (ER., VI, p. 45, 47,328—329,419). Alexander Makalester appears in the Black Isle, 1500 (Rose, p. 169). John Makalester had a precept of remission in 1542 (RSS., II, 4454). Africk McQuhollastar is mentioned in a charter of wadset, 1571 (Scrymgeour Family Docs., p. 71), and Angus McAlester was a follower of Murdow McCloyd in the attack on the galley of the laird of Balcomie, 1600 (RPC., XIV. p. cxxiii). Ferquhar Mackallister in Dunzean Croy, 1603 (Rec. Inv., II, p. 6). In 1614 the earl of Dunfermline described one Ihone dow Mcalaster as "the greatest limmer and brokin man in all the north" (HP., III, p. 172). Mac 'Ic Alasdair is the patronymic of the chief of Glengarry. McAlestare 1540, Makaiester 1506, Makeallyster 1585, Makallastair 1576, M'Allester 1632, M'Alstar 1548, McAllestyr 1519, Mcillaistrie 1569, Makallestir 1524, McCalister 1682, McCallaster 1686; McAllestar, McAllestair, McAlestar.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Mac Alastair An Irish-Gaelic family in Scotland, a branch of which returned to Ulster in the fourteenth century. MIF 21; Map Ant

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

(Celtic + Greek) Son of Alister or Alaster = Alexander, q.v. [Gaelic Alasdair]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Scottish) The son of Allister or Alistair, Scotch forms of Alexander (helper of mankind).

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The son of Alister or Alexander. The family are descended from Alexander Macdonald, son of Donald, whose father Reginald, was the son of Somerled Thane of Argyll.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

The son of Alister, the Gaelic, for Alexander. Callester, in the Welsh, signifies a flint, figuratively, an invincible man. Galluster, in Cornish-British, expresses might, power.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

MACALASTER: Traced by the MS. of 1450 to Alaster, a son of Angus Mor, Lord of the Isles, A.D. 1284. Alaster is a Gaelic form of Alexander. Skene. B.L.G.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

MacAlister Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name MacAlister Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name MacAlister has its highest incidence in The United States. It can appear in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of MacAlister click here.

How Common Is The Last Name MacAlister? popularity and diffusion

MacAlister is the 256,621st most frequently occurring family name throughout the world. It is borne by around 1 in 4,744,496 people. The last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 39 percent of MacAlister reside; 38 percent reside in North America and 38 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,116,575th most frequently held first name internationally. It is borne by 75 people.

The last name MacAlister is most frequently occurring in The United States, where it is held by 464 people, or 1 in 781,161. In The United States MacAlister is primarily concentrated in: Nevada, where 35 percent reside, Florida, where 7 percent reside and New York, where 4 percent reside. Without taking into account The United States it exists in 31 countries. It is also found in Scotland, where 17 percent reside and England, where 15 percent reside.

MacAlister Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of MacAlister has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the MacAlister surname grew 1,497 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 97 percent between 1901 and 2014.

MacAlister Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the MacAlister surname is primarily Anglican (69%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the MacAlister last name are 22.85% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 69.62% being registered to vote for the party.

The amount MacAlister earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 128.75% more than the national average, earning R 543,588 per year; in Colombia they earn 30.79% more than the national average, earning $29,692,900 COP per year; in United States they earn 8.42% less than the national average, earning $39,518 USD per year and in Canada they earn 7.68% less than the national average, earning $45,866 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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MacAlister Reference & Research

Macalister One-name Study - Information about the Macalisters in Ireland, Scotland, and the rest of the world, with additional links.

Today in Macalister History - A blog about McAlister history by the clan historian.

Today in Macalister History - A blog about McAlister history by the clan historian.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to MacAlister
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis