McLeister Surname

1,785,358th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 106 people bear this surname

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

McLeister Surname Definition:

MACLEISTER: The Scottish fiedgear (from Old French flechier), 'arrow-maker,' was early borrowed by Gaelic as fletsdear and leisdear, and gave origin to the name Mac an (fh)leisdeir, son of the arrow-maker.' Gillepatrik Makfleger had a royal remission in 1497 for slaughter committed by him in Ross (Rose, p.

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McLeister Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States541:6,712,202314,667
Northern Ireland421:43,9293,909
England301:1,857,26974,552
Scotland221:243,35512,191
Canada201:1,842,280119,096
Australia11:26,995,701270,794
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland281:158,2108,327
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States191:2,643,089124,494

McLeister Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

MACLEISTER: The Scottish fiedgear (from Old French flechier), 'arrow-maker,' was early borrowed by Gaelic as fletsdear and leisdear, and gave origin to the name Mac an (fh)leisdeir, son of the arrow-maker.' Gillepatrik Makfleger had a royal remission in 1497 for slaughter committed by him in Ross (Rose, p. 164; OPS., II, p. 572); and Rauchane McFleger took part in the invasion of the Black Isle in 1499 (Rose, p. 169). The Macan-Leisdeirs of Argyllshire are now mostly Englished as Fletchers, and Buchanan of Auchmer (p. 107) made them a sept of Macgregor. Several individuals named M'lnlester in Auchalladoer gave their bond of manrent to Duncan Campbell of Glenurnuhay in 1587 (BBT., p. 242). Malcolm Mclnllster witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1588 (Poltalloch Writs, p. 75), and Gillepatrik M'lnlestar in Brackley appears as a Glenurquhay tenant in 1638 (BBT., p. 403). Johnne McClester was tenant of Clagenauch in Islay in 1541 (ER., XVII, p. 618), and Duncan M'lnleister is in record in Diynlea in 1672 (HP., II, p. 207). Among the "articles concludit vpone be the barrones and gentlmen of the Shirefdome of Argyle" in 1638 was the following: "Item, that everie baillie, barone, and heretour be cairfull with all diligence to enter fledgeris in all pairtis of the cuntre for making of arrowes, and smythis for making of arrow-heidis" (BBT., p. 395). Donald Mclnleister and John Mclnleister in Balquhidder were fined for reset of Clan Gregor, 1613 (RPC., XIV, p. 638). A company of two hundred Highland bowmen was raised in 1627 for service in the war with France (Archaeologica Scotica, III; HP., I, p. 114-116). McInleaster 1686, Mclnlester 1553, Makinlestar 1559.

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

McLeister Last Name Facts

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

The last name McLeister is borne by more people in The United States than any other country/territory. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here to see other possible spellings of McLeister.

How Common Is The Last Name McLeister? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 1,785,358th most numerous surname globally It is held by around 1 in 68,750,433 people. This last name is predominantly found in Europe, where 89 percent of McLeister are found; 89 percent are found in Northern Europe and 89 percent are found in British Isles.

McLeister is most widely held in The United States, where it is held by 54 people, or 1 in 6,712,202. In The United States it is primarily concentrated in: Texas, where 19 percent reside, California, where 13 percent reside and Arizona, where 9 percent reside. Aside from The United States McLeister occurs in 5 countries. It is also common in Northern Ireland, where 40 percent reside and England, where 28 percent reside.

McLeister Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of McLeister has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the McLeister surname expanded 284 percent between 1880 and 2014.

McLeister Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the surname is principally Presbyterian (75%) in Ireland.

In The United States McLeister are 29.42% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 76.19% registered with the political party.

The amount McLeister earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 12.22% more than the national average, earning $48,420 USD per year and in Canada they earn 23.55% more than the national average, earning $61,381 CAD per year.

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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 McLeister
  • 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