The McAlister surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,665 people carried this name — #3,078 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,300 people counted. That is up 2% from 11,433 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the McAlister surname

Variant of McAllister.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McAlister» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Scotland’s registers today

McAlister was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 18. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McAlister was counted together with McCallister: 111 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 571 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCallister, McAlaster, McAlester, McAlister, McAllaster, McAllester, McAllister, McCalester, McCalister, McCallaster, McCallester, McCallestor, McColister, M'Colister, McCollester, McCollister, McCollistor, McOllister. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 33
North Carolina 21
Maryland 16
New Hampshire 15
South Carolina 13
New York 5
Maine 4
Vermont 3
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McAlister in American newspapers,
1901–1930.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McAlister
The Washington Times 1930-09-05
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name McAlister
New-york Tribune 1901-01-17
Newspaper page from The Wisconsin Weekly Advocate carrying the name McAlister
The Wisconsin Weekly Advocate 1901-01-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 34,942 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McAlister in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

16,131 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McAlister. The most, 3,335, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Australian Capital Territory, at 2.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 10,640
Victoria 1,732
Queensland 1,377
South Australia 860
Western Australia 749
ACT (Canberra) 469
Tasmania 148
Northern Territory 11

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McAlister.

Who carried it

People named McAlister,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Peter McAlister
    Peter McAlister 1869–1938 · cricketer
  • Hill McAlister
    Hill McAlister 1875–1959 · prosecutor
  • John McAlister
    John McAlister 1842–1918 · politician
  • David McAlister 1951–2015 · television actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McAlister,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,055 records

1,055 records of the McAlister name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 399
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 236
  • Other U.S. records 420
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Gary R. McAlister

    Born 1922 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Houston; kitchen worker from Fort Bend County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1944, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane McAlister

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1851 aboard the William Penn from Liverpool, aged 50; servant. From Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Emmett McAlister

    Born 1932; from Lake County, Illinois. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1953 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,055 records for McAlister in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia623 records

623 records of the McAlister name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 276
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 133
  • Other Australian records 214
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth McAlister

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mary Anne, arriving 1839; ticket of leave 1844.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos McAlister

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Acadia, aged 28; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Alfred McAlister

    Farmer of Benjeroop, Victoria; died 1996.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 623 records for McAlister in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada53 records

53 records of the McAlister name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 25
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 15
  • Other Canadian records 13
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James McAlister

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Thames, bound for London, Ontario; Scotland.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Julian McAlister

    Died 1916; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Alexander McAlister

    Died 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 53 records for McAlister in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand26 records

26 records of the McAlister name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 24
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry McAlister

    Died 1926, aged 80; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James McAlister

    Buried in 1932 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 31.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record W. McAlister

    New Zealand'Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 26 records for McAlister in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom8 records

8 records of the McAlister name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 4
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph McAlister

    Died 1968, aged 84; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth McAlister

    Buried in 1818 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 25.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. McAlister

    Welsh Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 8 records for McAlister in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McAlister.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McAlister is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McAlister volume
Scroll to Top