McAllister is a surname from Scotland and Ireland that is the anglicised form of Gaelic Mac Alasdair, meaning son of Alasdair. Alasdair is the Gaelic form of the first name Alexander. A branch of the MacDonalds or MacDonnells of Ireland and Scotland. Commonly found throughout Ulster.
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Mc Alister history
The Mc Alisters for the greater part owe their ancestry to the Scottish clan of the Mac Donalds. The name is derived from the personal name Alexander. The Mc Alisters arrived in Ulster as Gallowglasses at the invitation of the MacDonnell's. Today the greatest numbers of the name are to be found in counties Antrim, Londonderry, Fermanagh, and Dublin, otherwise the name is widely dispersed.
Common Spellings
The McAllister surname has many different spellings due to immigration. Some of the common spellings are