Alasdair
Alasdair is a masculine Scottish Gaelic name meaning "defender of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 492 living Americans carry the first name Alasdair. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alasdair today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alasdair births was 2021 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alasdair. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Alasdair with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
492
~ 1 in 696,655 Americans
Peak year
2021
37 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,684
Tracked since 1989
Census
Alasdair in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 545 people with the first name Alasdair, which placed it at #19,414 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,414
National first-name rank
People counted
545
545 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alasdair
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alasdair is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Alasdair described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Alasdair at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 471
- Two or more races5.9% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 8
- Black or African American0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Alasdair: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alasdair from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 225 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alasdair remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alasdair by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Alasdair during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alasdairs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Alasdair
The name Alasdair is a Scottish Gaelic form of the name Alexander, which has its origins in the Greek name Alexandros. The name Alexandros is derived from the Greek words "alexo," meaning "to defend," and "andros," meaning "man." Therefore, the name Alasdair carries the meaning of "defender of man" or "protector of mankind."
Alasdair is a name deeply rooted in Scottish history and culture. It gained prominence during the medieval period, particularly in the Scottish Highlands. The name was popularized by Scottish clans and families, who often used it to honor their ancestors or to symbolize their connection to their Scottish heritage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alasdair can be traced back to the 13th century, when Alasdair MacDonald, the Lord of the Isles, ruled over a significant portion of the Scottish Hebrides. He was a powerful figure in Scottish history and played a crucial role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against the English.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Alasdair. One such individual was Alasdair MacColla (1610-1647), a Scottish military leader who played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was known for his unwavering loyalty to the Royalist cause and his military exploits during the conflicts.
Another famous Alasdair was Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell (1725-1761), a Scottish Jacobite and poet who fought in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. His poetry and literary works have become an essential part of Scottish cultural heritage and have been widely celebrated for their artistic merit.
In the 19th century, Alasdair MacIntyre (1804-1876) was a prominent Scottish writer and journalist who played a significant role in the Scottish literary renaissance. His works often explored themes of Scottish identity and culture, and he was an ardent advocate for the preservation of the Scottish Gaelic language.
More recently, Alasdair Gray (1934-2019) was a highly acclaimed Scottish novelist, playwright, and artist. His works, such as the novel "Lanark," have been widely praised for their innovative and experimental style, and he is considered one of the most influential figures in Scottish literature of the 20th century.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Alasdair, each leaving their mark on Scottish culture, literature, and history.
People
Alasdair + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alasdair as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alasdair: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alasdair?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 492 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alasdair going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 696,655 US residents.
Is Alasdair a common name?
We classify Alasdair as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alasdair most popular?
The single biggest year for Alasdair was 2021, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alasdair is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alasdair in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 545 people with the name Alasdair, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,414 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Alasdair in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Alasdair?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alasdair appears almost entirely male. Of the 538 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Alasdair?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alasdair is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Alasdair most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alasdair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (471 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Alasdair in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alasdair a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alasdair in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Alasdair still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alasdair in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Alasdair can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Alasdair?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Alasdair on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.