McAllister (surname) has many different spellings due to immigration. Some of the common spellings are McAllister (surname) McAllister is a surname from Scotland and Ireland that originates from the Gaelic name Mac Alasdair, meaning son of God. Alasdair is the Gaelic form of the first name Alexander. The Mc Alisters for the greater part owe their ancestry to the Scottish clan of the Mac Donalds. The name is derived from the personal name Alexander. The Mc Alisters arrived in Ulster as Gallowglasses at the invitation of the MacDonnell's. Today the greatest numbers of the name are to be found in counties Antrim,
Kennedy (surname) Kennedy (surname) Kennedy, alternately O'Kennedy and Kennedie, is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin that has also been used as a given name. There have been several different etymologies given for the surname. One is that the name is an Anglicisation of "Ó Cinnéide", meaning "grandson of "Cinnédidh"" or "grandson of "Cinnéidigh"", with both of these personal names meaning "helmet headed." "Ceanéidigh" could be related to the old Gaelic name "Cennétig", which is known from Cennétig Mac Lorcáin, the father of the Irish high king "Brian mac Cennétig", who himself was also known as "Brian Bóruma" or Brian Boru.