Aleister

Aleister is a masculine given name, used primarily in the British Isles. It is a Scottish/Irish variant of Alexander, related to spellings such as Alastair, Alistair, and Alister. The form Aleister is less common today but has historical usage in Ireland and Scotland and can be found in English-speaking contexts.

The best-known bearer of the name is Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English occultist, writer, and founder of Thelema. Born Edward Alexander Crowley in Royal Leamington Spa, he adopted the forename Aleister as an adult. He briefly joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn but left around 1900. In 1904, while accompanying his wife in Egypt, he claimed to receive a text that would become The Book of the Law, establishing Thelema, a new religious philosophy. Crowley later founded the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù, Sicily, and wrote extensively on occultism, magick, and mysticism. His life and ideas made him a controversial but influential figure in modern occultism, shaping later esoteric movements and appearing in various strands of popular culture. He died in Hastings, England, in 1947.

Beyond Crowley, the given name Aleister remains relatively uncommon. Its spelling reflects its Gaelic and British roots, tied to Alexander and to Scottish forms such as Alastair. In contemporary use, Aleister is mainly encountered in historical, literary, or familial contexts rather than as a common given name.