McAlister Surname

27,029th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 19,875 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Northern Ireland

McAlister 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.

Read More About This Surname

McAlister Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States15,3741:23,5762,963
Australia2,5531:10,5741,566
Northern Ireland1,3481:1,369284
England1,1501:48,4506,046
Canada6691:55,0766,536
Scotland4401:12,1681,625
New Zealand3451:13,1262,286
South Africa3041:178,21619,593
Ireland1621:29,0682,610
Zimbabwe301:514,60841,883
Isle of Man291:2,959610
Uruguay231:149,20713,102
Trinidad and Tobago181:75,7765,658
Thailand181:3,924,352328,346
Jersey151:6,6131,336
Brazil141:15,291,024280,658
France131:5,109,440259,941
Wales131:238,04114,239
United Arab Emirates121:763,52325,625
Switzerland81:1,026,61463,315
China51:273,464,31313,838
Netherlands51:3,377,435111,911
Panama41:978,06412,245
Sweden41:2,461,689157,534
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines41:28,1651,050
Russia41:36,030,764577,589
Malta41:107,5681,849
Laos41:1,647,081888
Czechia41:2,658,367127,801
Germany41:20,126,365436,245
Guyana41:190,5559,777
India41:191,766,3461,073,940
Malaysia31:9,831,408269,765
Belgium31:3,832,215117,288
Hong Kong31:2,445,1619,595
South Korea31:17,080,0852,793
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Barbados21:143,7241,981
Ukraine21:22,761,348425,733
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Taiwan21:11,722,37363,559
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
Argentina21:21,371,707253,176
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Afghanistan11:32,153,18360,828
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Uzbekistan11:30,929,14267,786
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Iran11:76,782,524277,718
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1,6691:2,654505
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland8681:4,312684
England3901:62,5017,261
Wales51:313,68310,604
Isle of Man51:10,8541,028
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,3041:15,1991,950

McAlister (58) may also be a first name.

McAlister 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

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

McAlister Last Name Facts

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

McAlister is found in The United States more than any other country/territory. It can also be rendered as:. For other possible spellings of McAlister click here.

How Common Is The Last Name McAlister? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 27,029th most widespread family name in the world It is held by around 1 in 366,669 people. The last name is mostly found in The Americas, where 77 percent of McAlister are found; 76 percent are found in North America and 76 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,295,729th most prevalent given name world-wide, held by 58 people.

The last name McAlister is most commonly held in The United States, where it is carried by 15,374 people, or 1 in 23,576. In The United States McAlister is most common in: Texas, where 14 percent reside, South Carolina, where 11 percent reside and California, where 10 percent reside. Beside The United States this last name is found in 64 countries. It also occurs in Australia, where 13 percent reside and Northern Ireland, where 7 percent reside.

McAlister Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of McAlister has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the McAlister surname increased 465 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 295 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it contracted 49 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it contracted 90 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Wales it increased 260 percent between 1881 and 2014.

McAlister Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the McAlister last name is predominantly Methodist (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the McAlister last name are 19.82% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 66.59% registered with the party.

The amount McAlister earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 64.97% more than the national average, earning R 392,028 per year; in United States they earn 0.86% less than the national average, earning $42,776 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.57% more than the national average, earning $55,432 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

McAlister Reference & Research

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

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

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 McAlister
  • 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