Meaning and background
The story behind Macintosh
Macintosh is a Scottish surname, an Anglicised spelling in the McIntosh family, ultimately from Gaelic Mac an Toisich, “son of the chief”. It has a second modern association through Apple’s Macintosh computer, whose name is also linked to a type of apple. Neither the computer nor the fruit created the original Gaelic surname. This fuller form is distinctive in print and can be shortened to Mac when calling a dog.
- Origin
- Scottish surname, variant of McIntosh, from Gaelic Mac an Toisich meaning “son of the chief”. Source
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About Macintosh
Recorded as a dog’s name
Macintosh appears in 9 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/mækəntɔʃ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/mækəntɔʃ/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AE1 K AH0 N T AO2 SH
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.