Opinions on spelling of Alasdair/Alastair/Alistair

[MimiDaisy11]

We've pretty much decided on this name if we have a boy. The only downside is the variety of spellings. My usual view with names is that you should go with the most popular spelling. The most popular spelling in Scotland is Alasdair at the moment for babies, however, with this name, it's not popular at the moment (23 babies in 2019 in Scotland) and so between the most popular spelling and the next one down there's only a difference of 3-5 babies.

We're leaning more towards Alasdair at the moment. I do like that it's the original Gaelic spelling but I think within the UK and internationally other spellings might be more recognised.

Any opinions?

[dementedpixie]

I prefer the last one

[steppemum]

Hard to say.
My brother is an Alistair, as my dad's family are Scottish.
I have always leaned towards the t not d, because that is how I say it and hear it. For me it is a definite t sound, so a d would feel odd.
But if you think is sounds more like a d in your voice, then go for that.

Accents are so different it is hard to say.

[steppemum]

I should say that when I say it it sounds like Alister

[Scautish]

Alasdair is most traditional spelling. I don’t mind Alastair but I dislike any other spelling as it’s the anglicised version.

[weebarra]

I have an Alasdair. Be prepared for everyone to spell it incorrectly!
I love it though.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

DSs middle is Alastair. But we have an Alister in the family too. DH didn't want the D as it reminded him of a posher accent. I don't mind any of the spellings to be honest, none of them are weird or "made up" in an contrived way. Once people know which one you've used, they'll get used to the spelling.

Great name BTW.

[steppemum]

yes, great name.
I would have used it if it wasn't my brother's name!

(actually 3 out of 4 of my favourite names were taken by close relatives!)

[OhBuggerandArse]

Another vote for Alasdair :-)

[daisypond]

If you’re in Scotland I’d go for Alasdair, but all spellings are fine. It’s a bit like how Catherine, Katherine, Katharine etc are all valid. You might get people spelling Alistair as their first thought, though.

[FluffyEggsontoast]

I prefer Alistair spelling both lovely though , a great name

[ParisJeTAime]

I prefer Alasdair.

[Londonnight]

My grandson is Alasdair. I love the name

[SciFiScream]

I'm Scottish. Love the all, especially with the D. I say them all slightly differently. It's maybe quite hard to hear but there is a subtle difference.

[RaspberryCoulis]

I'd always default to Alistair, but the Alastair is fairly common too. There is a very funny Billy Connolly sketch about Crawford, Campbell and Alasdair with a D-A-I-R though.

[RaspberryCoulis]

Alasdair, with a DAIR. ;-)

[IsabellaMozzarella]

Great name!!! We went with dair as it's the original spelling.
Everyone spells it all manner of ways but I don't mind.

[Peeteea]

I’m in Scotland and my favourite of the three is Alasdair, followed by Alastair then Alistair. I run into the first two most often round here- I associate the third more with England as that was the spelling I saw most often when I lived there. Regardless of spelling though, it’s a lovely name!

[FairfaxAikman]

Alasdair is a Gaelic name (English equivalent is Alexander) and thus that spelling is the "correct" one and therefore that's the one I'd go for over the Anglicised spellings.

It was actually op of my list for DS but DH vetoed it.

[RubyReigns]

I have a 5yr old Alastair. We aren’t Scottish or I would have used Alasdair instead.
We pronounce it with an A sound rather than an I sound too.
No one ever spells it correctly though. Even family. Be prepared to have to spell it every time you give his name in the phone etc.

[FairfaxAikman]

@steppemum

I should say that when I say it it sounds like Alister

It only sounds that way to a non-Gaelic speaker.

My name is Gaelic and to a non-Gaelic speaker sounds like a perfectly normal English name that was popular in the 80s and has two common spellings - and while it does sound similar, it's subtly different in pronunciation.

[IamnotwhouthinkIam]

My instinct as someone living in England/Wales would be to use the Alistair spelling (I also think this is the most common in other English speaking countries like the US, but I could be wrong), although I prefer the look of the Alastair spelling myself.

Having said all that though, it absolutely makes sense if you live in Scotland to use the original Alasdair spelling; as pp mentioned you unfortunately are likely to have to spell it for people whatever you chose - but it's a lovely name anyway!

[painting2014]

We have a 9 year old Alastair.

You will definitely need to spell it for people - have now seen every variant of the spelling!

[CornforthWhite]

They are all pronounced differently so that’s the biggest clue of what spelling you want as that’s the way you’ll say his name as a family. It’s a lovely name, we have a little Alastair and lots of people compliment his name but often get the spelling wrong. I prefer the ‘t’ but if I was in Scotland perhaps we’d have chosen the ‘d’. Using the ‘I’ sound makes it a totally different name in my mind

[ILoveStickers]

Love this name! I'd go Alasdair or Alastair personally. But I think PP is right - it's like Katherine, they're all known and recognised.

[ZebraKid71]

I would automatically spell it Alistair , but they are all fine, known spellings and its the kind of name I'd clarify the spelling before writing it down.