''MacAlasdair'' is a masculine

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

. The name translates into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "son of ''

Alasdair Alasdair is a Scottish Gaelic given name. The name is a Gaelic form of ''Alexander'' which has long been a popular name in Scotland. The personal name ''Alasdair'' is often Anglicised as ''Alistair'', '' Alastair'', and ''Alaster''.''A Dictionary o ...

''". The feminine form of the name is ''NicAlasdair'', which translates into English as "daughter of ''Alasdair''". These surnames originated as a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

s, however they no longer refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. There are numerous

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

forms of ''MacAlasdair''. The

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

form of ''MacAlasdair'' is ''Mac Alasdair''. Other similar Irish surnames are ''Mac Alastair'', ''Mac Alastruim'' and ''Mac Alsandair''. The feminine forms of these surnames for unmarried females are ''Nic Alasdair'', ''Nic Alastair'', ''Nic Alastruim'', and ''Nic Alsandair''. The feminine forms for married females are ''Bean Mhic Alasdair'', ''Bean Mhic Alastair'', ''Bean Mhic Alastruim'', and ''Bean Mhic Alsandair''; these names can also be contracted to ''Mhic Alasdair'', ''Mhic Alastair'', ''Mhic Alastruim'', and ''Mhic Alsandair''. The Irish and Scottish Gaelic have many

forms. The Scottish Gaelic name has been borne by a notable

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...

, which was once seated on the south-west coast of Scotland. The Irish names have been borne by descendants of Scots who settled in the north of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Etymology

The

''MacAlasdair'' originated as a

, in the form of ''mac Alasdair'', which translates into

as "son of ''Alasdair''". Today, however, the

''MacAlasdair'' does not refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name ''Alasdair'' is a Scottish Gaelic equivalent of the English ''

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

'', which is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

form of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' Alexandros''. This

Greek name In the modern world, Greeks names are the personal names among people of Greek language and culture generally consist of a given name and a family name. History Ancient Greeks generally had a single name, often qualified with a patronymic, a c ...

is composed of two elements: the first, ''alexein'', meaning "to defend"; the second, ''aner'', meaning "man" or "warrior" (the genitive of ''aner'' is ''andros''). ''Alexander'' has been an extremely popular given name in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, when it was borne by three

Scottish kings The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

. The name was introduced into the country through

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(died 1093), the Hungarian-born wife of Malcolm III, King of Scots; in time one of their sons became Alexander I, King of Scots (died 1124). One of the earliest instances of a form of ''MacAlasdair'' are records of "Ranald Makalestyr", who obtained a lease of lands in Arran, in 1455. Ranald is later also referred to in documents as "Ranald Alexandri", and "Reginald McAlestir" (also "McAlestere" and "McAlestre").

Feminine form

''MacAlasdair'' is a masculine surname. The Scottish Gaelic form of this surname for females is ''NicAlasdair''. This feminine name is composed of the prefix ''Nic-'' which is an

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

form of the Scottish Gaelic ''nighean'' which translates into English as "daughter". Like the masculine form of the surname, ''NicAlasdair'' no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father.

Gaelic cognates

;''Mac Alasdair'' The Scottish Gaelic ''MacAlasdair'' is rendered in

as ''Mac Alasdair''. which cited: for the surnames "Alister", "MacAlester", "MacAlister", "MacAllister", "MacCalister", and "MacCallister". ''Mac Alasdair'' translates into English as "son of ''Alasdar''", and like the Scottish Gaelic form, the surname does not refer to the bearer's father. The

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

''Alasdar'' is an Irish form of the English ''Alexander''. The form of this Irish surname for unmarried females is ''Nic Alasdair''; this name is actually a contracted form of ''Iníon Mhic Alasdair'', which translates into English as "daughter of ''Mac Alasdair''". The form of ''Mac Alasdair'' for married females is ''Bean Mhic Alasdair'', which translates into English as "wife of ''Mac Alasdair''"; this surname can also be represented in the contracted form ''Mhic Alasdair''. ;''Mac Alastair'' A similar Irish surname is ''Mac Alastair'', which translates into English as "son of ''Alastar''". which is a transcription of: The Irish ''Alastar'' is an equivalent of the English ''Alexander''. which is a transcription of: Like, ''Mac Alasdair'', this surname no longer refers to the bearer's father, and like ''Mac Alasdair'' feminine forms of the name include ''Nic Alastair'', ''Bean Mhic Alastair'', and ''Mhic Alastair''. ;''Mac Alastruim'' Another form of the name is ''Mac Alastruim'', which translates into English as "son of ''Alastrom''". The Irish ''Alastrom'' is an equivalent of the English ''Alexander''. which is a transcription of: which is a transcription of: Feminine forms of ''Mac Alastruim'' include ''Nic Alastair'', ''Bean Mhic Alastair'', and ''Mhic Alastair''. ;''Mac Alsandair'' Another form of the Irish name is ''Mac Alsandair'', which is a transcription of: which translates into English as "son of ''Alsandar''". which is a transcription of: Feminine forms of ''Mac Alsandair'' include ''Nic Alsandair'', ''Bean Mhic Alsandair'', and ''Mhic Alsandair''.

Anglicised forms

Anglicised forms of ''MacAlasdair'', in use today, include ''

'', ''Callister'', ''Macalaster'', ''Macalester'', ''Macalister'', ''Macallaster'', ''

MacAllister Macalister, MacAlister, MacAllister and their variants are forms of a Gaelic surname which means 'son of Alisdair'. The name originated in Scotland and belonged to a branch of the Clan Donald; they became an independent clan in 1493. From about the ...

'', ''Maccalister'', '' McAllister''. which cited: for the surnames "Callister", "MacAllister", "McAllister". Anglicised forms of ''Mac Alasdair'' include ''Alister'', ''MacAlester'', ''MacAlister'', ''MacAllister'', ''MacCalister'', and ''MacCallister''. Anglicised forms of ''Mac Alastair'' include ''Callister'', ''MacAlister'', ''MacAllister'', ''MacCallister'', ''MacEllister'', ''MacAlester'', ''MacClester'', ''MacLester'', and ''Lester''. Anglicised forms of ''Mac Alastruim'' include ''MacElistrum'', ''MacElestrim'', ''MacEllistram''. Anglicised forms of ''Mac Alsandair'' include ''Alexander'', ''MacAlshander'', ''MacAlshender'', ''MacAlshinder'', ''MacCalshander'', ''MacElshander'', and ''MacKalshander''.

Families

The surname ''MacAlasdair'', and its various Anglicised forms, have been borne by members of

Clan MacAlister Clan MacAlister is a Scottish Clan. The clan is the earliest branch to have split off from Clan Donald, claiming descent from Alasdair Mòr, son of Domhnall founder of Clan Donald. From Alasdair Mòr the clans takes its surname ''MacAlister''; ...

, a noted

that was historically seated on the south-west coast of

. These MacAlasdairs are a branch of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

(Scottish Gaelic ''Clann Dhòmhnaill''), although there has been confusion over who the identity of the clan's

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ancestor. As late as the late 19th century, it was claimed that the clan descended from Alasdair Òg, son and

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

of Aonghas Mòr, son and heir of Dòmhnall (died mid 13th century), the eponymous ancestor of Clan Donald. However a more modern understanding is that the clan's eponymous ancestor is Alasdair Mòr (died 1299), younger son of Dòmhnall (eponymous ancestor of Clan Donald). Bearers of the Irish ''Mac Alastair'', and its various Anglicised forms, include descendants of Clan Donald who settled in what is today

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Bearers of the Irish ''Mac Alastruim'', and its various Anglicised forms, include a family centred in what is today

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

; this family, according to Patrick Woulfe who wrote in the early 20th century, has been located in Kerry for centuries. According to Woulfe, ''Mac Alsandair'', and associated Anglicised forms, are also of Scottish origin.

People with the surname

Goraidh Mac Eachann MacAlasdair Goraidh Mac Eachann MacAlasdair ( en, Geoffrey son of Hector, son of Alexander, anglicised ''Godfrey MacEachan MacAlester'', or ''Gorrie'') was born c. 1570-1580s, he became 5th of Loup, Chief of Clan MacAlister in 1587. He died in c. 1636 at Ta ...

, (16th century), Scottish, Chief of Clan MacAlister *

Eachann Mac Goraidh MacAlasdair Eachann Mac Goraidh MacAlasdair ( en, Hector, son of Goffrey, son of Alexander, anglicised: ''Hector MacGorrie MacAlester''), was the 6th of Loup, Chief of Clan MacAlister. He succeeded to the title in 1636. He was hanged for treason at Whinny H ...

, (17th century), Scottish, Chief of Clan MacAlister

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacAlasdair Clan MacAlister Scottish Gaelic masculine surnames Scottish surnames Patronymic surnames