Alistair

English spelling of Alasdair, Scottish version of Alexander
"defending men"

Alistair Origin and Meaning

The name Alistair is a boy's name of Scottish, Scottish Gaelic origin meaning "defending men".

With many British names invading the Yankee name pool, the sophisticated Alistair could and should be part of the next wave. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. You have a triple choice with this name--the British spell it Alistair or Alastair, while the Scots prefer Alasdair--but they're all suave Gaelic versions of Alexander. Adopted by the lowland Scots by the seventeenth century, the name didn't become popular outside Scotland and Ireland until the twentieth century.

Both Andrew Lloyd-Weber and Rod Stewart chose the Alastair spelling for their sons' names.

# 920 in the US

Alistair Rank in US Top 1000

# 122 on Nameberry

Alistair Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Alistair Popularity

Famous People Named Alistair

  • Alfred "Alistair" Cooke
    British,American journalist and TV presenter
  • Alistair Richard Griffin
    English singer,songwriter
  • Alistair Cees Overeem
    Dutch MMA fighter
  • Alistair Mackay
    Scottish polar explorer
  • Alistair Maclean Darling
    Baron Darling of Roulanish, British MP
  • (Robert) Alistair McAlpine
    Baron McAlpine of West Green, British adviser to PM Margaret Thatcher
  • Alistair Edward Brownlee
    English triathlete
  • Alistair MacLeod
    Canadian novelist
  • (James) Alistair Taylor
    English assistant to the Beatles
  • Alistair Stuart MacLean
    Scottish novelist
  • Alexander Morrison "Alistair" Carmichael
    Scottish MP
  • Alistair Reid "Ally" MacLeod
    Scottish footballer and manager
  • Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist
    Scottish footballer
  • Alistair Charles McGowan
    English comedian
  • Alistair Stuart MacLean
    Scottish novelist
  • Alistair Douglas Ross Campbell
    Zimbabwean cricketer
  • Alistair Begg
    American radio evangelist
  • Alistair "Ali" Testo
    bassist of British pop punk band As It Is

Alistair in Pop Culture

  • Alistair Smythe aka The Ultimate Spider
    Slayer, villain in Spider,Man comics
  • Alistair Theirin
    a character in the Dragon Age series
  • Alistair Leslie Graham aka Ali G
    character created by Sacha Baron Cohen
  • Alistair Crane
    character on American soap Passions
  • "The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury
    " children's series
  • Alistair Gordon Lethbridge
    Stewart, character on TV's Doctor Who
  • Alistair Oh
    character in 'The 39 Clues'
  • Alistair Windsor
    character in 'The Night Gardener'
  • Alistair Ryle
    character in The Riot Club
  • Alistair "Alex" Turner
    character from the TV series 'London Spy'
  • Alastor "Mad
    Eye" Moody, character in the Harry Potter series
  • Alistair Patton
    character in 'Return to Snowy River'
  • Alastor the Radio Demon
    character in 'Hazbin Hotel'