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.

Alistair Rank in US Top 1000

# 920 in the US

Alistair Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 122 on Nameberry

Alistair Popularity

• 920 US 2023
• 122 Nameberry 2024
• 4 Unique 2018
• 564 Future 2028
• 592 England 2021

20 Names Similar to Alistair

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Alistair.

• Alastair
• Ambrose
• Leander
• Lucius
• Edmund
• Atlas
• Caspian
• Magnus
• Benedict
• Amias
• Alasdair
• Lysander
• Balthazar
• Arthur
• Cassius
• Evander
• Soren
• Alaric
• August
• Jasper

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'