About the name Alistair
Alistair is the Gaelic answer to Alexander, and it keeps the same meaning while losing all of the empire. It reads as unmistakably Scottish without being difficult, which is why it travels so well.
Alistair is a boy name of Scottish Gaelic origin, pronounced AL-iss-tair. On the NameRarity scale it scores 66 out of 100, which places it in the rare band — recognisable but seldom used. Distinctive without needing to be spelled out twice. Its strongest period was the 2010s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Alistair?
Alistair currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 23 people per million carry it — about 1 in 43,478. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Alistair
- Alistair CookeBritish-American broadcaster, wrote Letter from America
- Alistair MacLeanScottish novelist of wartime adventure fiction
Spellings and variants of Alistair
Names similar to Alistair
Alexander
al-eg-ZAN-der
Defender of the people
Nikolai
nik-uh-LY
Victory of the people
Ananda
ah-NAHN-dah
Bliss, joy, also the Buddha's cousin and personal attendant
Atticus
AT-ih-kus
From Attica
Augustus
aw-GUS-tus
Great, venerable
Mahavir
muh-hah-VEER
Great hero, the epithet of Vardhamana, twenty-fourth Tirthankara
Ranbir
run-BEER
Hero of the battlefield
Achuthan
uh-CHOO-thun
The infallible one, an epithet of Vishnu
Alistair — frequently asked questions
What does the name Alistair mean?
Alistair means "Defender of the people". It is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, most often given to a boy.
How do you pronounce Alistair?
Alistair is pronounced AL-iss-tair, with 3 syllables.
How rare is the name Alistair?
Alistair scores 66 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it rare. Roughly 1 in every 43,478 people carry it — about 23 per million.
What is the numerology number for Alistair?
Alistair carries the expression number 8, known as The Powerhouse. Its soul urge number is 2 and its personality number is 6.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Alistair?
The lucky number for Alistair is 8 (with 17, 26, 35 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Midnight Navy. The traditional lucky day is Saturday and the associated gemstone is Onyx.