The Origin and reason for change in spelling of Collister to Collester

A.W. Moore of Cronkburne, Isle of Man, in his book entitled "Manx Names", tell us that the names Callister and Collister were derived from MacAlister, a Scotch name of Roman origin, meaning Alexander's son, compiled in Scotland when the Romans ruled Great Britain. The name Collister is strictly Manx, though not of Celtic origin as most Manx names are. Taxes in Manxland are called rents and the rent records show family names and changes in spelling for hundreds of years. This record shows that anciently nearly every every Manx surname was preceded by the word Mac (meaning "son of") pronounced as a syllable of the surname following it. The sound of "ma" in Mac being unaccented and indistinct, was finally omitted and the "k" sound emphasised and retained. Thus Macallister became Callister. The spelling Callister shows on the rent records in 1606 and Collister in 1799. Moore says Callister is much more common today than Collister.

Collister spelled with an "i" is the regular Manx spelling. Collester spelled with an "e" instead of an "i" is purely American. Mr. Samuel Collister was born on the Isle of Man in 1734 and emigrated to Warren, Massachusetts, where he died in 1815. On his arrival in America he changed the spelling of his name by substituting an "e" for the "i" in Collister and requested that all of his descendants should spell their name Collester to mark their relationship.