MCALLISTER
Recorded variant spellings include M'Callister, M'callister, Mc Allister, Mcallister
McAllister is a surname of Gaelic origin which can be traced back to the Scottish Isles. The name derives from the Gaelic phrase Mac Alasdair, literally son of Alexander, and thus reflects a patronymic system common in Gaelic societies.
The personal name Alasdair is the Scottish form of the Greek Alexandros, meaning defender of men from the Greek elements Alexein (to defend) and aner (man). Consequently, the surname McAllister may be interpreted as son of the defender of men or son of Alexander.
Historical records indicate that the surname firstly appears in Scotland in the late thirteenth century. An early example is that of Ranald Makalestyr, whose lease of lands in Arran is recorded in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1455. In 1500 an Alexander Makalester is mentioned in the Black Isle, and a John Makalester obtained a precept of remission in 1542. Further references include Africk McQuhollastar, mentioned in a wadset charter in 1571, and John Makalster, who married Jane Kerr at Edinburgh on 15 February 1649. The surname continued in use through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with documented baptisms and marriages in Edinburgh up to the early 1700s.
Over time, the spelling of the surname has varied. Common variations include Mac Alester, Mac Alister, Mac Allaster, McAlester, MacAlister, McAlister, Mac Alasdair, MacAlexender, MacAlisdair and McAlisdair. These differences arose because early bearers were often illiterate and clerks recorded names phonetically. The prefixes Mac and Mc are interchangeable and both mean son of in Gaelic.
In addition to its Scottish roots, the surname and its variants have disseminated throughout the British Isles, especially in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and later to regions such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Despite this dispersion, the bearers of the name maintain a strong link to their Scottish heritage, and the surname remains most frequent in Scotland and Northern Ireland today.
Typical given names associated with the McAllister surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname McAllister in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 11,130 people named McAllister in the UK. That makes it the 826th most common surname in Britain. Around 171 in a million people in Britain are named McAllister.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named McAllister
- Gary McAllister - Scottish football player
- Lisa McAllister - Actress
- Rory McAllister - Scottish football player
- Kevin McAllister - Scottish football player
- Jamie McAllister - Scottish football player
- Sean McAllister - Football player
- Sean McAllister - Documentary filmmaker
- Kyle McAllister - Football player
- Stewart McAllister - Film editor (1914 to 1962)
- Lee McAllister - Boxer
- Stephen McAllister - Golfer
- Mark McAllister - Football player
- Brian McAllister - Scottish football player
- Ian McAllister - Scottish football player
- Anne McAllister - (1892 to 1983)
- Tom McAllister - Scottish football player (1881 to 1951)
- Pat McAllister - Football player
- Gilbert McAllister - Politician (1906 to 1964)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.