MacAllister Surname

165,848th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,611 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Falkland Islands

MacAllister 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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MacAllister Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,1951:303,31327,913
Australia3431:78,7059,179
England2351:237,09819,544
Canada2161:170,58117,126
Scotland2051:26,1162,832
Ireland1201:39,2413,109
Argentina911:469,70835,035
Northern Ireland791:23,3552,670
South Africa361:1,504,93677,557
Brazil291:7,381,874170,034
New Zealand201:226,41621,878
Germany121:6,708,788223,026
Colombia81:5,971,75920,087
Norway41:1,285,57269,185
Wales21:1,547,26639,871
France21:33,211,361423,184
Costa Rica21:2,390,03410,205
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Falkland Islands11:3,132317
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland151:295,32411,912

MacAllister (69) may also be a first name.

MacAllister 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)

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

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

“Son of Alexander” (Alasdair) in Old Scots.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(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, 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

MacAllister Last Name Facts

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

The surname MacAllister is found most frequently in The United States. It can also appear in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of MacAllister click here.

How Common Is The Last Name MacAllister? popularity and diffusion

MacAllister is the 165,848th most widely held family name on a worldwide basis, held by approximately 1 in 2,791,094 people. It is primarily found in The Americas, where 59 percent of MacAllister live; 54 percent live in North America and 54 percent live in Anglo-North America. MacAllister is also the 1,171,416th most widely held forename globally It is held by 69 people.

This surname is most commonly used in The United States, where it is carried by 1,195 people, or 1 in 303,313. In The United States MacAllister is most frequent in: Massachusetts, where 13 percent are found, Texas, where 11 percent are found and California, where 11 percent are found. Other than The United States it exists in 28 countries. It is also found in Australia, where 13 percent are found and England, where 9 percent are found.

MacAllister Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of MacAllister has changed over time. In Ireland the share of the population with the last name expanded 800 percent between 1901 and 2014.

MacAllister Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the surname is predominantly Anglican (53%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the MacAllister last name are 2.03% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than The US average, with 51.2% being registered with the political party.

The amount MacAllister earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 45.4% more than the national average, earning 503,184 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 28.59% less than the national average, earning R 169,692 per year; in United States they earn 7.94% more than the national average, earning $46,577 USD per year and in Canada they earn 6.06% less than the national average, earning $46,671 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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MacAllister Reference & Research

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

Gunn Sept List FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 MacAllister
  • 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