Alastair
Derived from the Old Scottish Gaelic name meaning "protector of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 1,256 living Americans carry the first name Alastair. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Alastair today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alastair births was 2019 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alastair. 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.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 272,894 Americans
Peak year
2019
62 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,364
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Alastair: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alastair from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 420 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alastair remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alastair 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 Alastair during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alastairs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Texas, Colorado recorded the most babies named Alastair, while Washington, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alastair
The name Alastair has its origins in the ancient Gaelic languages of Scotland and Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic name Alasdair, which is a Gaelic form of the Greek name Alexander, meaning "defender of men."
The earliest recorded use of the name Alastair dates back to the Middle Ages in Scotland, where it was a common name among the Gaelic-speaking clans of the Scottish Highlands. It was particularly popular among members of Clan Donald, one of the largest and most powerful clans in the region.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Alastair was Alastair Óg MacDonald, the 8th Chief of Clan Donald, who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He played a significant role in the wars between the clans and the Scottish Crown during this turbulent period.
Another notable Alastair in Scottish history was Alastair MacColla, a renowned Royalist military leader during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century. He was a skilled strategist and led Gaelic-speaking forces in support of King Charles I against the Covenanters and Parliamentarians.
In the 18th century, Alastair MacDonald of Glenaladale was a prominent Jacobite who fought for the restoration of the Stuart monarchy during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. He played a crucial role in helping the famous Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from Scotland after the Battle of Culloden.
The name Alastair also has literary connections, with one of the most famous examples being Alastair Petrie, a character in Sir Walter Scott's novel "Waverley." Published in 1814, the novel was instrumental in reviving interest in Scottish history and culture during the Romantic period.
Another notable figure with the name Alastair was Alastair Sim, a Scottish actor who achieved fame in the mid-20th century for his performances in various British comedies and dramas. He was born in 1900 and passed away in 1976, leaving behind a rich legacy in the world of cinema.
People
Alastair + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alastair 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
Alastair: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alastair?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alastair 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 272,894 US residents.
Is Alastair a common name?
We classify Alastair as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,297 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alastair most popular?
The single biggest year for Alastair was 2019, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alastair is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alastair a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alastair 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.
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.