Alistair
Alistair is a male given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic name Alasdair. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman name Alexandre or the Latin name Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the same form as Alexander.
- Scottish
Meaning & Origin of Alistair
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Alistair is a male given name. It is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic name Alasdair. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman name Alexandre or the Latin name Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the same form as Alexander.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Scottish
The Story of Alistair
Alistair first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1956, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2026: 262 births, good for #901 nationwide. About 40% of every Alistair on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Alistair ranks #901 for baby boys with 262 births, gradually rising (+13%). All told, over 4K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Alistair
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Alistair. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Alistair
Phonetically similar names — useful when Alistair is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Alistair
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About the name Alistair
Alistair is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1956 and has accumulated 4K births in the dataset. Alistair's peak popularity came in 2026 when it ranked #885. Use the chart and map above to compare Alistair's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
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Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.