Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Alistair?
Births per year, rank history and how many Alistairs are alive today.
Alistair (male) is an uncommon boys' name in England and Wales, ranked 517th in 2025 with 75 babies given the name. The name peaked in 1996, when 294 babies were given the name, the 133rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1996; the 2025 figure is roughly 26% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years.
The Alistair you are most likely to meet is around 31 years old. Half of all Alistairs born in England and Wales are between 16 and 33, and there are at least 5,600 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 1.8% chance that at least one of them will be called Alistair.
How many babies are named Alistair each year?
Where does Alistair rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Alistair most popular?
Alistair peaked in 1996, when 294 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Alistair?
At least 5,600 people named Alistair born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Alistair?
Most living Alistairs are between 16 and 33; the most common age is about 31.
Is Alistair becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1996 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.