Lister (surname)

Lister, Lyster
Pronunciation	Lis'terr
Origin
Word/name	English
Other names
Variant form(s)	Lester, Lestor, McInlester, McLeister, Laister, Litster, Lidster, Ledgister Ledster

Lister coat of arms, Thomas Lister of Westby, County York, England. Taken from "Lyster Pioneers of Lower Canada and the West",^[1] which credits Thomas Lyttleton Lyster Denny's 1913 work, "Memorials of an ancient house".

Lister or Lyster is an English occupational surname, and may refer to a textile dyer, from the Middle English word "litster", meaning to dye.^[2] It dates back to the 13th century in Scotland with the recording of Aleyn le Littester of Edinburghshire who rendered homage to the Interregnum Government in 1296, and to the 14th century in England (Richard le Lyster appears in the Subsidy Tax Rolls of Derbyshire in 1327).

The name probably comes from the Old Norse verb 'lita', meaning 'to dye' and rendered as 'lystare' in English. The noun for 'dyer' was 'litster' (Scottish), 'lit(t)e' (middle English), or 'lister' (English). The word was also associated with a 'salmon spear', rendered 'lyster' (Danish) or 'lister' (English). A 1533 Act of Parliament stated, "No person shall take in any crele, raw web, lister.... the young fry of salmon."

The name took hold in areas of England in the 16th Century known for the woollen industry, mainly Yorkshire, but also Lancashire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

The name came to Ireland following the Cromwellian campaign of 1649, and took root in County Laois, rendered by the English as Queen's County.

Spelling variants[]

The name's spellings include Lister (English & Scottish), Lyster (Irish), Lester, Lestor (English), McInlester, McLeister, Laister, Litster (Scottish), Lidster (Scottish), and the rare Ledgister and Ledster (Scottish).

Eswyn Lyster notes that, "It is often said that 'Lister' is the English name, while 'Lyster' is Irish, but both spellings are found in Ireland, often in the same family. In England 'Lyster' is seldom seen (save) to someone whose ancestors moved to Ireland and then returned. In Scotland the spelling (Fife County) is 'Litster' and 'Lidster', and tends to become 'Lister' in modern times'."^[3]

Whereas both 'Lister' and 'Lyster' rhyme with 'mister', in some areas of western Canada 'Lyster' is rendered as if spelt 'Lester'.

Coat of arms and crest[]

Lister-Lyster crest, taken of a plaque held by a British Columbia Lyster family

There is no official registry that recognizes a Lister/Lyster coat of arms, but Listers of Yorkshire-descent use the one granted to John Lyster de Derby. It is a shield divided horizontally in three, the middle being black with three large white five-pointed stars. Six small staggered crosses with bell-bottomed bases are on the white strip at the top, and seven are on the bottom.

The crest which appears atop the coat of arms is a dagger impaling a laurel wreath, from Carlow Ireland (Queen's County).^[4] This is listed in , designated "LYSTER, Ire."

The family motto is variously 'Retinens vestiga famae' (Following in the footsteps of fame), or 'Facta, non verba' (Deeds, not words).

Lister[]

Alton Lister, retired American professional basketball player
Anne Lister, (1791–1840), Yorkshire landowner
Anthony Lister, an Australian born painter and installation artist
Arthur Lister, (1830–1908), English botanist
Aynsley Lister, English blues guitarist
Big Bill Lister, (1923–2009), Texas country & western singer, honkytonk singer
Charles J. Lister, (1820–1912), a central figure in the Restoration Movement in 19th century Canada
Dave Lister (fictional character), character in the BBC television sitcom Red Dwarf
David Cunliffe-Lister, 2nd Earl of Swinton
David Lister (director), South African-born film director
David Lister (origami historian)
Dean Lister, an American mixed martial arts fighter and a former KOTC champion
Elaine Lister (born 1962), Scottish wheelchair curler
General Enrique Líster, Spanish Communist politician and military officer who took part in the Spanish Civil War and World War II
Hovie Lister, musician
Hugh Lister, (1901–1944), an Anglican priest, trade union organizer, and combatant officer in World War II
Ensign Jeremy Lister, the youngest British officer at the Battle of Lexington and Concord
Joseph Lister, British surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic surgery
Joseph Jackson Lister (1786–1869), British amateur opticist and physicist; father of Joseph Lister
Joseph Jackson Lister (naturalist) (1857–1927), British zoologist and plant collector
Joseph Lister (VC), received VC for actions at the Third Battle of Ypres
Martin Lister, (c. 1638 – 1712), English naturalist and physician
Marquita Lister, American opera soprano
Moira Lister, British actress and writer
Mosie Lister, U.S. musician
Nicholas Cunliffe-Lister, 3rd Earl of Swinton
Philip Cunliffe-Lister, 1st Earl of Swinton
Richard Percival Lister, (R. P. Lister) British metallurgist, author, poet and painter
S. E. Lister, British novelist
Samuel Lister, 1st Baron Masham
Steve Lister, English footballer
Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton
Thomas Lister (regicide), (1597–1668), Colonel in English Parliamentary Army, English civil war
Thomas Henry Lister, (1800–1842) English novelist and Registrar General
Tom Lister, Jr. (1958–2020), American actor
Tommy Lister Jr. (1958–2020), American character actor and wrestler
W. Lister Lister (1859–1943), Australian artist

This page lists people with the surname Lister.
If an intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Lyster[]

Anthony George Lyster (1852–1920), Engineer-in-Chief to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (1852–1920)
Bill Lyster, sergeant Mentioned in Despatches with the Canadian Army, Dieppe Raid, Second World War
Eswyn Lyster (1923–2009), Canadian author
Harry Lyster (1830–1922), Anglo-Irish Victoria Cross winner and lieutenant general
Lumley Lyster (1888–1957), Royal Navy vice-admiral during the Second World War
Richard Lyster (1480–1554), English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Theodore C. Lyster (1875–1933), US Army brigadier general and aviation medicine pioneer
Thomas Lyster (Cavalier) (1612–1655), a supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War
Thomas William Lyster (1855–1922), Irish librarian; appears under his own name in Ulysses (novel) by James Joyce.
William Saurin Lyster (1828–1880), Irish-born impresario, active in Australia

Litster[]

Geoffrey Litster, leader of a peasant uprising in Norfolk in 1381

Known Lister/Lyster histories[]

Lyster Pioneers of Lower Canada and the West, 1984 "The Lyster Family: The Canadian Lysters who Belong to the Lyster Family of Queen's County, Ireland", 1900 - James Lyster, Montreal, Canada
Reverend Henry Littleton Lyster "Memorials of an Ancient House", 1913 - Sir Henry (Lyster) Denny (The Listers of Gisburn(e), Yorkshire, England)
"The Lyster Family", 1973 - Helen Lyster Nash, Pasadena, California, USA. 1979. 275 pages. San Marino Printers, San Marino, CA HFG-Lyster-2. HFL 6677.^[5]
Lyster Pioneers of Lower Canada and the West, 1984 - Eswyn Lyster, Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada. 335 pages. Cartwright Printers, Courtenay, B.C. ISBN 0-9691833-0-5. HFG-Lyster-3.^[6]

References[]