McAlister: Last Name Origin and Family Crest

Seen on a birth certificate or a ship's manifest, McAlister is usually a form of McAllister. Its meaning, shared with McAllister, is “Son of Alasdair (Alexander)”. McAlister drops the “l” of McAllister, a simplification that clerks often made. Before spelling was standardised, one family could appear under several forms. The same family of names includes MacAllister.

The 2010 census count for McAlister in the United States was 11,665, good for rank 3,078.

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