Alasdair
Masculine · “defender of men”
Alasdair is the Scottish Gaelic form of Alexander, and Gaelic reshaped the Greek so thoroughly that the two look like different names entirely.
How old is the name Alasdair?
Alasdair first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Alasdair is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Alasdair are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alasdair most popular?
Alasdair peaked in 2015, reaching #3149 nationally. Today it ranks #3848, 699 places below that high. See the whole 2015 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Alexandros to Alasdair
The story of Alasdair
Alexander came to Scotland with the medieval kings — three of them carried it — and Gaelic took it as Alasdair, which became one of the commonest Highland names and gave the surname MacAlister. Alexander's own reputation in Gaelic tradition is considerable; he appears in Irish and Scottish literature as a figure of legend. The name reaches American records with Scottish emigration.
Meaning
defender of men
From Greek alexein, to defend, and aner, a man, in the genitive andros; the compound is transparent in Greek and survived translation into Gaelic sound patterns without surviving translation into Gaelic looks.
How the name formed
- Alexandros
- Alaxandair
- Alasdair
Related forms: Alexander · Alastar · Alistair
Pronouncing Alasdair
AL-uh-ster
Three syllables, first stressed; the d is silent in the Gaelic spelling.
Nicknames for Alasdair
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 202137 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3149reached in 2015
- Change vs 2024
- −6.7%28 in 2025, from 30
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alasdair in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alexander in English — same name
- Alastar in Irish — same name
- Alistair in Scots — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Alasdairs among us
people named Alasdair are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 61,003 born in 2025 was named Alasdair
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Daejon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Alasdair's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Daejon climbed just as high around 2000, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Daejon's path sketches the road Alasdair is walking now.
Alasdair sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Alasdair is headed
Alasdair should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Alasdair beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Alasdair in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning that is completely transparent once explained.
- Sandy and Ally are both established Scottish short forms.
- It carries Scottish identity clearly, which is the point for the families who use it.
- The silent d confuses every reader who has not met the name before.
- Alasdair, Alastair and Alistair are all in use and none is dominant.
- Eight letters is a fair amount for early handwriting.
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What they receive
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Alasdair
Masculine · #3848 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Alasdairs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Alasdair are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alasdair in 2025?
- Alasdair ranks #3848 among US boy names in 2025, with 28 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Alasdair?
- About 1 in every 61,003 US boys born in 2025 was named Alasdair — 28 in all.
- Will my child share the name Alasdair with classmates?
- Alasdair will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Alasdair
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Armand#3848 · Tracy#3848 · Stafford#3848 · Dewey#3848 · Donny#3848 · Trevion#3848 · Coltyn#3848 · Isreal#3848
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Alasdair? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Alasdair and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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