We are expecting a boy in July and my husband and I have had a really hard time agreeing on a name. My favorite by far has been [name]Liam[/name] but I know that’s really popular and DH doesn’t want to use a popular name, although I’m still holding out hope. I also like [name]Benjamin[/name] and it sounds good with our last name, which starts with B. But I just came across the name [name]Alastair[/name]. DH said he likes it and I do too, but is it a name my son will get beaten up over? Does it sound snobby? Or smart? I’m also thinking of [name]Ronan[/name] or [name]Rowan[/name] for a middle name, but [name]Rowan[/name] seems to be pretty feminine right now.
[name]Alastair[/name] [name]Rowan[/name] is a gorgeous name. ([name]Love[/name] [name]Rowan[/name] for a boy btw!). I’m British so the pn comes out as al-ah-stuh. I think in the states they make more of the stair sound on the end which I don’t like at all (anyone else want to chime in on this?). If you dislike the stair sound you could consider the spelling Alastor to avoid it 
Oops just realised didn’t answer all your questions! It’s not a name that would result in bullying in the UK - it’s fairly common. Most definitely not feminine. The [name]Alastair[/name]'s I’ve know have all been well liked fairly modest bright lads. I wouldn’t consider it snobby at all but this may be different in US.
Yep, I’m american and where I’m from, we pronounce it kind of like alice-stair. Some people say it alister though. Sorry, that ones hard to explain, even for me it comes out different every time, you know? It is a really handsome name though, and he most definitely wouldn’t get beat up for it, I don’t see any teasing potential really other than his name will probably be a bit different from his classmates’- which isn’t really bad anyway. Also, [name]Rowan[/name] isn’t completely feminine at all and I think it would sound great with [name]Alastair[/name] as a first.
Alastair is a terrific name and he can call himself Al if he likes. It is a favourite of mine. Please, please do not change the spelling unless you are going with the popular Alister.
rollo
I love [name]Alastair[/name]! It’s a great name and I don’t think he’ll get beaten up over it. [name]Rowan[/name] has always been a girl name to me (I’ve only ever known girls named [name]Rowan[/name] and only ever seen girls on TV and in books with the name). I do love [name]Ronan[/name] though. [name]Alastair[/name] [name]Ronan[/name] is very cool!
I love [name]Alastair[/name]. I think [name]Alastair[/name] [name]Ronan[/name] sounds great, very Irish.
[name]Rowan[/name] is also nice, and since it’s the middle name, I don’t think you should worry too much about its popularity as girl’s name.
I personally think it is fantastic! It’s smart sounding, but not not ‘super nerdy.’ It also has ‘cool points’ for being a [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] character name.
Thank you for your replies. I would probably pronounce it like alis-stir but I can definitely see people saying alis-stair because of the spelling. I actually like either way though. I love that it’s more common in the UK but not in the US, a plus in my book.
I don’t remember the [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name] character but I will have to go back and look now. We had also talked about [name]Cedric[/name] and I know that is a HP character.