McIntosh or MacIntosh (MAC)?

04blackmaxx

Well-Known Member
Why do people call the company (MAC)Intosh when it is spelled (Mick)Intosh? Mc = Mick not Mac. These are the questions people...
 
Phonetic spelling perhaps. I tend to use "Mc" myself.

Also, the fact that the receiver line had been designated "MAC" and (although less generally known) that the founder liked to be called "Mr Mac" around the factory.
 
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Could be a Elias Island error, maybe the government official ran out of "As" that day.

I would assume Frank McIntosh had a reason, and he certainly wouldn't be bashful about correcting someone if they pronounced his name in a way no acceptable to him.
 
• before a stressed syllable it is pronounced mək, or in a more formal style perhaps mæk; thus McBride, McDonald, McEwan, McPherson

• before an unstressed syllable it is mæk, and is itself stressed; thus McAnultyˌmækəˈnʌlti, McAvoyˈmækəvɔɪ, McEnroe, McIntosh, McNamara

• but before k or g it is reduced to , thus McCarthyməˈkɑː(r)θi, McCorquodale, McGill, McGonagall, McQueen
 
The following explanation offered on Yahoo Answers:

It's because this name is originally Gaelic, a language that is spelt very differently from English. In Gaelic it is spelt "Mac an Tiosich" (it means "son of the chief"), but if you wrote that, nobody except a Gaelic-speaker would know how to pronounce it!

So it has to be given an Anglicized spelling, and over the last few centuries different people have used different conventions to anglicize Gaelic surnames. Some people spell the first part (which means "son") "Mac"; others use "Mc". In the 18th century it was also quite common to write it "M'", which would make you M'Intosh. Some people gave the next part a capital letter, McIntosh or MacIntosh, to stress that this is a two-word surname; others didn't. Of those that didn't, some worried that spelling it "Macintosh" left it unclear how the C in the middle should be pronounced, and stuck in a K, making it Mackintosh, just so nobody could be in any doubt.

Two hundred years ago the same person's name might have been written down in any of these ways, depending on what system the writer preferred. But they have become standardized, so that different families fixed on different spellings.
 
The story goes that Steve Jobs purposely avoided confusion when naming his new computer line. Up to that point all Apple computers headed for sale bare the Apple name somewhere in the title. He was well aware of the McIntosh Electronics brand and history and would not in any way create an issue with the electronics company. Of course the infamous "Lisa" had nothing identifying it as an Apple product. I guess even he was entitled to an "OOPS" moment. It did not become a saleable computer due to it's cost. Years ago when I worked for a company that did work for Apple we only knew them by their development name. One I will never forget was called the "QFC" and explained as "Quahog, a fat clam". It eventually became the "Pizza Box Computer" generally. Mac 6116 and a dozens of variations. First one to offer a built in CD drive at a reasonable cost I believe.
As they say, "The rest is history".
 
The story goes that Steve Jobs purposely avoided confusion when naming his new computer line. Up to that point all Apple computers headed for sale bare the Apple name somewhere in the title. He was well aware of the McIntosh Electronics brand and history and would not in any way create an issue with the electronics company. Of course the infamous "Lisa" had nothing identifying it as an Apple product. I guess even he was entitled to an "OOPS" moment. It did not become a saleable computer due to it's cost. Years ago when I worked for a company that did work for Apple we only knew them by their development name. One I will never forget was called the "QFC" and explained as "Quahog, a fat clam". It eventually became the "Pizza Box Computer" generally. Mac 6116 and a dozens of variations. First one to offer a built in CD drive at a reasonable cost I believe.
As they say, "The rest is history".

It's also noted that Jobs had to get permission from McIntosh to use the name Macintosh. The agreement was no audio gear from Jobs and no computers from McIntosh.
 
A different issue but now that it's been mentioned, the story is that the US Trademark Office refused Apple from using "McIntosh, MacIntosh, Macintosh etc for any of its products on the grounds that Apple's products and McIntosh's products were categorically too similar.

Steve Jobs appealed to Gordon Gow who licensed (for a fee) the use of "Macintosh" (with an "a" and lower case "I") with certain restrictions on the type of products Apple could manufacture under the name, ie: no amplifiers, etc. The license is renewed annually and remains in force to this day.
 
That's not according to the attorney for McIntosh. Wayne Cooper is quoted as saying in the book For The Love of Music. This story is covered from page 205-206. The whole story is laid out there. McIntosh and Apple had a working agreement before the name Macintosh was applied for.
 
So just to be clear...it is "Mack" Intosh and this is due to Gaelic spelling why it isnt Mick. I still like calling it Mick.
 
I think "Mc" pronounced as "mick" is more prevalent among the Irish. "Mac" probably used mostly in Scottish - which is Mr Mac's ancestry.
 
For comparison purposes, here's a picture of the first Mc:
15h0oco.jpg

(not mine, sadly)

And here's a picture of the first Mac:
mac128k_2.jpg

(actually is mine! :D)

Both are somewhat underpowered compared to what came later, but both did start a revolution... :cool:
-Adam
 
The reason is simple. When you are trying to find gear, spelling both ways help you locate more stuff.:jump:
 
The reason is simple. When you are trying to find gear, spelling both ways help you locate more stuff.:jump:

That is how I got my Mac stack! :)

It was spelt Macintosh and there were no pictures. I decided to take a chance with my time. It was well worth it!
 
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