Alistair

Alistair is a male given name. It is an anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic Alasdair. The latter is most likely a Scottish Gaelic variant of the Norman French Alexandre or Latin Alexander, which was incorporated into English in the same form as Alexander. The deepest etymology is the Greek Ἀλέξανδρος (man-repeller): ἀλέξω (repel) + ἀνήρ (man), "the one who repels men", a warrior name. Another, not nearly so common, Anglicization of Alasdair is Allaster.^[1]

Alistair

Pronunciation	/ˈælɪstər/ AL-ist-ər
Gender	Male
Language(s)	English
Origin
Language(s)	Scottish Gaelic
Word/name	Alasdair
Other names
Alternative spelling	Alister, Allister, Alyster, Alystair, Allystair, Allyster, Alastor, Allaster, Alasdair, Alastair, Allistier, Alisdair
Nickname(s)	Alis, Ally, Alex

People

Alastair

• Alastair Adams (born 1969), English artist
• Alastair Aiken, British YouTuber
• Alastair Aird (1931–2009), British royal courtier
• Alastair Bellingham (1938–2017), British haematologist
• Alastair Bray, Australian footballer
• Alastair Bruce of Crionaich (born 1960), British journalist, British Army reservist and officer of arms
• Alastair Burnet (1928 – 20 July 2012), British journalist and broadcaster
• Alastair Caldwell (born 1943), British-New Zealand motorsports manager
• Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former director of communications
• Alastair Chalmers (born 2000), British track and field hurdler
• Alastair Clarkson, head coach of Hawthorn Football Club
• Alastair Cook, English cricketer
• Alastair Crooke (born 1949), British diplomat
• Alastair Denniston (1881–1961), Scottish codebreaker and hockey player
• Alastair Duncan, several people
• Alastair Dunnett (1908–1998), Scottish journalist and newspaper editor
• Alastair Forsyth (born 1976), Scottish professional golfer
• Alastair Fothergill, British film producer, best known for BBC nature documentaries
• Alastair Gillespie, former Canadian politician who held several cabinet positions in the 1970s
• Alastair Goodlad (born 1943), British politician
• Alastair Greene (born 1971), American singer, guitarist, and songwriter
• Alastair Little (1950–2022), British chef, cookbook author and restaurateur
• Alastair Lynch (born 1968), Australian rules footballer
• Alastair Mackenzie, Scottish actor most famous for playing Archie MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen
• Alastair Morgan (born 1958), British diplomat
• Alastair Pilkington (1920–1995), British inventor, engineer, and businessman
• Alastair Redfern (born 1948), retired Church of England bishop

• Alastair Reid, several people
• Alastair Reynolds, Welsh science fiction author
• Alastair Riddell (born 1952), New Zealand singer-songwriter
• Alastair Robinson, Anglo-American field botanist
• Alastair Salvesen (born 1941), British billionaire businessman and heir
• Alastair Sim (1900–1976), comedy actor
• Alastair Sooke (born 1981), English art critic and broadcaster
• Al Stewart, Scottish singer-songwriter
• Alastair Stewart, ITV News presenter
• Alastair Storey (born 1953), Scottish businessman
• Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria

Alistair

• Alistair Abell, Canadian voice actor
• Alistair Appleton, television presenter
• Alistair Begg, American pastor, author, and speaker
• Alistair Brammer (born 1988), English actor
• Alistair Brownlee, British triathlete and Olympic gold medalist
• Alistair Bunkall (born 1982), British journalist
• Alistair Campbell, Zimbabwean cricketer
• Alistair Carmichael (born 1965), British politician
• Alistair Carns (born c. 1981), British politician and Royal Marines officer
• Alistair Cragg (born 1980), South African track and field athlete
• Alistair Cooke (1908–2004), journalist and broadcaster
• Alistair Darling (1953–2023), British politician
• Alistair Edwards (born 1968), Australian soccer player and coach
• Alistair Fruish, English filmmaker, writer and novelist
• Alistair Hargreaves, South African rugby player
• Alistair Hinton, Scottish composer
• Alistair Knox (1912–1986), Australian designer, builder and landscape architect
• Alistair MacLean (1922–1987), Scottish novelist
• Alistair MacLeod (1936–2014), Canadian novelist, short story writer and academic
• Alistair McGowan, English impressionist and comedian
• Alistair McGregor, Scottish field hockey goalkeeper
• Alistair Overeem, Dutch MMA fighter
• Alistair Petrie (born 1970), British actor
• Alistair Sinclair, computer scientist
• Alistair Strathern (born 1990), British politician
• Alistair Taylor (1935–2004), personal assistant to the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein
• Alistair Urquhart (1919–2016), Scottish businessman and the author
• Ally MacLeod (1931–2004) Scottish footballer and national team manager
• Ally McCoist, Scottish footballer

Allister

• Allister Adel (1976–2022), American district attorney
• Allister Bain (born 1935), Grenadian actor, playwright, and screenwriter
• Allister Brimble, British video game composer
• Allister Carter (born 1979), English snooker player
• Allister Coetzee (born 1963), South African rugby union coach and former player
• Allister de Winter (born 1968), Australian retired cricketer
• Allister Grosart (1906–1984), Canadian politician
• Allister Heath (born 1978), British business journalist and commentator
• Ally Hogg (born 1983), Scottish rugby union footballer
• Allister MacGillivray (born 1948), Canadian singer/songwriter, guitarist, and music historian
• Allister Miller (1892–1951), South African aviation pioneer, First World War pilot, politician and entrepreneur
• Allister Sparks (1933–2016), South African writer
• Allister Surette (born 1961), Canadian politician
• Allister Whitehead (born 1969 or 1970), British DJ, musician, remixer and record producer

Alister

• Alister Allan (born 1944), Scottish rifleman
• Alister Campbell (born 1959), Scottish rugby union player

• Alister Charlie (born 1977 or 1978), Guyanese politician
• Alister Clark (1864–1949), Australian rose breeder
• Alister Hardy (1896–1985), English marine biologist
• Alister Howden (1877–1938), New Zealand cricketer
• Alister Jack (born 1963), Scottish politician
• Alister MacKenzie (1870–1934), British golf course designer
• Alister McDermott (born 1991), Australian cricketer
• Alister McGrath (born 1953), Northern Irish theologian, priest, intellectual historian, scientist and Christian apologist
• Alister Watson (1908–1982), British mathematician

Aleister

• Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
• Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), British occultist

Pseudonym

• Alastair (artist), pseudonym of Hans Henning Otto Harry Baron von Voigt, a German artist

In fiction

• Alastair, a demon on the television series Supernatural
• Alastair Caine, a demon on the television series Charmed
• Alastair Carstairs, a Shadowhunter in Cassandra Clare's The Last Hours trilogy
• Alistair Cheng, a character in the Crazy Rich Asians novel as well as the film adaptation
• Alistair Deacon, a character in the British sitcom As Time Goes By
• Alistair Theirin, a character from the Dragon Age video game series
• Sir Alistair Hammerlock, a character from the Borderlands video game series
• Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, one of three fictional characters created and portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen
• Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Brigadier of UNIT on British science fiction show Doctor Who
• Alistaire Stuart, an ally of Excalibur in Marvel Comics
• Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, a character in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
• Alastor "The Radio Demon", a mysterious powerful overlord in the Hazbin Hotel series by Vivienne Medrano
• Alistair Scott, a fictional wheelchair-using student appearing in the British sitcom, The Inbetweeners
• Alistair Smythe, a Spider-Man villain
• Alistair Crane, a villainous patriarch and businessman on TV's Passions
• Alistair Oh, the Uncle from the 39 Clues series
• Alistair Ryle, a character in the play Posh and film The Riot Club
• Alistair Krei, a Big Hero 6 character
• Alastair, family name of characters in three Georgette Heyer romance novels, These Old Shades, Devil's Cub and An Infamous Army
• Alistair, a character from the Twilight book and film series
• General Alister Azimuth, a character from Ratchet & Clank
• Allister, the ghost type gym leader of Stow-on-Side in Pokémon Shield
• Aleister, a mage-type character in Arena of Valor
• Aleister, Sterling Archer's butler in Season 11 of FXX's Archer
• Ser Alliser Thorne, master-of-arms in the Night's Watch in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series and Game of Thrones television series
• Alistar, a minotaur in the League of Legends game
• Alistair, a character in the film Wonder Woman 1984

Other use

• Cyclone Alistair, a moderate tropical cyclone that existed near Australia in April 2001.

See also

• Alastar
• Alastor
• Allaster
• Allister

• Macalester
• Macalister
• McAlister
• McAllester
• McAllister (surname)

Citations

1. Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 399.

References

• Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.