Spelling of Mackintosh

Now before I go any further, I should explain what I've learned about the spelling of the surname Mackintosh. There have been several spellings of this name since it was first given to our first Chief. Most have just been mis-spellings because of the lack of spelling. In gaelic it is Mac-an-Toisch. Toisch being the gaelic word for Thane and Mac is gaelic for son, so, son of Thane.

For the most part, the name has always been spelled as Mackintosh. In Mackintosh histories, and other documents in the early 1700's, you see basically two spellings, Mackintosh and an abreviated form, M'Intosh. I would say, in the late 1700's the spelling McIntosh appears, and later in the 1800's the spelling MacIntosh appears.

I've seen the same individual in the The Mackintosh Muniments 1442-1820 as Mackintosh and as M'Intosh. So it appears to me that the spelling doesn't really matter. And it is not as many would assume as time has went by the name has gotten shorter, from Mackintosh to McIntosh.

So whatever the spelling of Mackintosh, M'Intosh, McIntosh, MacIntosh, or MccIntosh (very rare), we are all Mackintoshes.