Alistair - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. a-lis-tai(r), al-ista-ir ] The boy name Alistair is pronounced as AELahSTEHR ^KEY. Alistair is used chiefly in the English and Scottish languages, and it is derived from Scottish origins. Alistair has the meaning defender of men. The name is Anglicized from the Gaelic Alasdair, itself a Scottish form of Alexander, a popular name in Scotland. It was adopted by the Lowland Scots by the 17th century, and spread beyond Scotland and Ireland by the 19th century. The form Allaster was popularized in the 19th century when it appeared as the name of a minstrel in Sir Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy (1817). The name Alastrina (Irish and Scottish) is the female form of Alistair.

Alastair (English and Scottish), Alaster (English and Scottish), Alastor (English), Aleister (English), Alisdair (English and Scottish), Alistaire (English), Alister (English and Scottish), Allaster (English and Scottish), and Allister (English) are variants of Alistair. Aly (English and Scottish pet form) is another variant of Alistair. See also the related form, Alasdair (Scottish).

Alistair is unusual as a baby name for boys. It is not listed in the top 1000 names.

Baby names that sound like Alistair include Alastair (English and Scottish), Alistaire (English), Alasdair (Scottish), Alaster (English and Scottish), Alastor (English), Aleister (English), Alisdair (English and Scottish), Alister (English and Scottish), Allaster (English and Scottish), Allister (English), Alastar (Irish), and Alexandor (English).

^KEY: Pronunciation for Alistair: AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)"

Details of famous persons named Alistair:
Author Alistair MacLean, born Alistair Stuart MacLean, 28 April 1922 - 2 February 1987, Glasgow, Scotland.
Journalist Alistair Cooke, born Alfred Cooke, 20 November 1908 - 30 March 2004, Salford, Lancashire, England.

Popularity Trend
for Alistair
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Alistair
in 2007