 From Alasdair Mòr the clans takes its surname "MacAlister"; this surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic "MacAlasdair" meaning "son of Alasdair".In the 15th century the chief of the clan was seated in Kintyre, and the clan was centred there until the 18th century, when a chief sold the family estate in preference to a lowland estate.Clan MacAlister is a branch of Clan Donald—one of the largest Scottish clans.