McAllister (surname)
McAllister is a surname from Ireland and is also found in Scotland. It originates from the Gaelic name Mac Alasdair, meaning son of Alasdair. Alasdair is the Gaelic form of the first name Alexander. McAllister history. The McAllisters for the greater part owe their ancestry to the Scottish Clan Donald. The name is derived from the personal name Alexander. The McAllisters arrived in Ulster as Gallowglasses (from Irish: Gallóglaigh meaning foreign warriors) at the invitation of the MacDonnell's. Today, the greatest numbers of the name are to be found in Counties Antrim, Down, Londonderry, Fermanagh, and Dublin , otherwise the name is widely dispersed. Arrival in Ireland. Unlike many Scottish surnames found in modern day Ulster, the MacAllisters did not arrive during the Plantation of Ulster. The MacAllisters spread into Northern Ireland early on; some families of this clan were established there by the 14th century. And a considerable number followed the MacDonalds of Dunyvaig to Antrim after that clan lost its Scottish lands in the 1600s. Like the MacDonalds, The MacAllister's were seen as ‘uncivilised Gaels' and were not considered appropriate candidates for the Ulster Plantations therefore, are not among the group now known as Ulster -Scots (or Scotch-Irish). Common spellings. The McAllister surname has many different spellings due to immigration. Some of the common spellings are McAllister Demographics. Sample size: 1,530 (1901). It is likely that these figures have changed significantly. In recent times, the religious adherence of those bearing the McAllister last name is predominantly Catholic in Ireland.