# McAllister (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mcallister/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A patrilineal surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 29,544 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,197 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 10,450 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.4% (28,586 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /məˈkælɪstɚ/, 4 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Alasdair (“son of Alexander”). By surface analysis, Mc- + Allister.

## Who carries it

Share of people named McAllister in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 78% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 16% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named McAllister in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named McAllister

- Mary McAllister, American actress (1909-1991)
- Paul McAllister, actor (1875-1955)
- Vance McAllister, American businessman and politician
- Lisa McAllister, actress
- Ward McAllister, American socialite (1827–1895)

## Similar surnames

McAlister, McLester, McCallister, McAlexander, McCalister, McCollister, McAleese, McLaughlin, McCullough, Michaels, McCloskey, McCulloch.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.