Alistair

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Alistair: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Alistair: Recorded since 1956, its highest recorded position is #87, and it stood at #509 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
77times a registrar ranked it
70years from first to last
#87highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#133
1997	#150
1998	#148
1999	#180
2000	#213
2001	#230
2002	#247
2003	#224
2004	#250
2005	#328
2006	#296
2007	#330
2008	#358
2009	#391
2010	#413
2011	#392
2012	#405
2013	#396
2014	#391
2015	#404
2016	#404
2017	#400
2018	#471
2019	#459
2020	#464
2021	#592
2022	#500
2023	#556
2024	#545

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 27 of the 57 years from 1969 to 2025.

In 2024: #246 among boys in Scotland, #545 among boys in England and Wales, #785 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1956–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1956
First recorded at #97 among boys in New Zealand in 1956 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Boys
Highest recorded1956–1964
Highest recorded position: #87 among boys in New Zealand, in 1958 (recorded 1956–1964).
New Zealand · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #509 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Alistair appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 29 ranked years and 3,525 births registered; the earliest is New Zealand · Boys, from 1956.

Alistair across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Alistair's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#291 (1969)	#245 (1979)	#509 (2025)	27 of 57	112 (1969–2025)	7 (1979)
England and Wales · Boys	#133 (1996)	#133 (1996)	#545 (2024)	29 of 29	3,525 (1996–2024)	294 (1996)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#179 (1997)	#179 (1997)	#365 (2019)	13 of 23	49 (1997–2019)	8 (1997)
New Zealand · Boys	#97 (1956)	#87 (1958)	#100 (1964)	7 of 9	429 (1956–1964)	72 (1962)

Alistair by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Alistair in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	956	4 of 10	239
2000sbusiest	1,210	10 of 10	121
2010s	994	10 of 10	99
2020s	365	5 of 10	73

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 121 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Alistair appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1956 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #87 in New Zealand in 1958.

Alistair's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#545	70	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#556	68	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#500	78	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#592	64	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#464	85	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#459	88	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#471	86	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#400	110	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#404	106	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#404	104	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#391	105	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#396	103	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#405	100	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#392	100	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#413	92	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#391	100	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#358	107	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#330	111	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#296	119	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#328	97	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#250	133	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#224	145	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#247	118	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#230	129	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#213	151	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#180	185	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#148	240	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#150	237	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#133	294	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	male	#100	58	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	male	#89	72	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	male	#96	61	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	male	#96	64	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	male	#95	62	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	male	#87	64	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	male	#97	48	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#365	4	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#403	3	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#311	4	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#387	3	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#378	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#357	3	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#341	3	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	male	#281	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#280	3	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	male	#277	3	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	male	#241	4	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#221	5	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#179	8	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#509	6	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#785	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#516	6	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#631	4	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#564	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#713	3	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#609	4	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	6	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#596	3	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#448	4	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#334	3	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#337	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#323	3	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#256	5	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#304	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#260	5	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#288	4	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#245	7	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#258	5	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#272	5	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#278	4	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#291	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#246	16	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1956 and 2025, ranked in 51 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #87, first reached in 1958.

It held a top-100 place in 7 years, 5 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 294 births, registered in England and Wales in 1996.

Its record falls into 10 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 4 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1969, and 68 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Alissa · #419, 29y
Alissia · #749, 28y
Alister · #271, 28y
Alivia · #248, 28y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Felicity · #88, 51y
Karla · #88, 53y
Jasmin · #84, 46y
Ted · #90, 55y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Jeffery · #87, 42y
Gloria · #86, 65y
Harold · #88, 50y
Kaye · #89, 20y

Alistair was ranked #87 in New Zealand · Boys in 1958. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Alistair and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Alistair without appearing here.

Alistair moved ahead of

Andreas Compare
In 2024 they stood at #785 and #785 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2025 that had become #509 and #829.
Connor Compare
In 2024 they stood at #785 and #302 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2025 that had become #509 and #829.
Glenn Compare
In 2024 they stood at #785 and #582 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2025 that had become #509 and #829.
Taylor Compare
In 2024 they stood at #785 and #785 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2025 that had become #509 and #829.

Moved ahead of Alistair

Rian Compare
In 2020 they stood at #464 and #475 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #592 and #352.
Shea Compare
In 2004 they stood at #258 and #316 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2005 that had become #448 and #213.
Hunter Compare
In 2011 they stood at #392 and #473 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #405 and #238.
Tadhg Compare
In 2022 they stood at #500 and #600 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #556 and #419.

Moved the opposite way to Alistair

Aaron Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 while Aaron went from #174 to #71.
Adam Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 while Adam went from #196 to #20.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 while Benjamin went from #154 to #83.
Conor Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 while Conor went from #50 to #16.

Moved the same way as Alistair

Alfred Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 and Alfred from #163 to #286.
Denis Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 and Denis from #29 to #232.
Edward Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 and Edward from #22 to #125.
Frank Compare
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Alistair went from #291 to #509 and Frank from #163 to #286.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1956 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #87 in New Zealand in 1958. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Alistair

Alistair at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Alistair across 4 official records

Alistair by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Alistair appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Alistair

Alistair and the names beside it

Alistair moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Alistair

Moved the opposite way to Alistair

Moved the same way as Alistair

Alistair at a glance

Alistair across 4 official records

Alistair by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Alistair appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Alistair

Alistair and the names beside it

Alistair moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Alistair

Moved the opposite way to Alistair

Moved the same way as Alistair