MACINTYRE
Recorded variant spellings include Mac Intyre, Macintyre
MacIntyre is a surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic phrase Mac an t‑Saoir, meaning “son of the carpenter” or “son of the craftsman”. The name is patronymic, indicating descent from an ancestor who was a skilled woodworker or mason.
The name first appears among the early medieval peoples of the British Isles, in particular within the Gaelic-speaking communities of Scotland. It is associated with a Christian heritage and is part of the wider Celtic linguistic tradition. The prefix Mac denotes “son of”, while an is the definite article, and Saoir is the genitive of Saor, a term used for a craftsman or mason.
The MacIntyre sept was historically based in Glenoe, a location that is also written as Glencoe, within the region of Lorn in Argyllshire. The clan served as hereditary foresters to the Stewart earls of Lorn and later to the Campbell lords of the same area. The earliest recorded witnesses bearing the name appear in 1490 at Rothesay in Buteshire, and in subsequent years they received Crown grants and leases, such as a ferry at Conane in 1504 and a portion of the lands of Dunallirde in 1506.
The coat of arms authorised for the M’Intyre family of Glenoe is a shield divided quarterly. A red eagle displayed, armed and langued sable, occupies the first and fourth quarters. The second quarter shows a silver galley with its sails furled sable and flags red. The third quarter depicts a silver hand, cut down at the wrist, holding a cross crosslet fitchee sable, styled sinister and fesse‑way. This heraldry reflects the clan’s martial and maritime associations.
Over the centuries the surname has been recorded in numerous spellings. The most common variants are McIntyre, MacIntyre, and McIntyre. Other permutations include MacIntire, MacIntere, McEntire, McIntair, and occasionally shortened forms such as Intyre or Intire when the Mac or Mc prefix is omitted. These variations arose from regional dialects, phonetic spelling by clerks, and migration.
During the Highland Clearances of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many MacIntyre families were displaced from their ancestral lands in Argyll and the Western Isles. Consequently, the name spread to North America, particularly the United States and Canada, as well as to Australia and New Zealand. Today, MacIntyre remains a common surname within Scotland, especially in the areas of Argyll and Bute and the Western Isles, and it is also widely found among peoples of Scottish descent worldwide.
Thus, MacIntyre continues to be a powerful emblem of Scottish heritage, linking contemporary bearers to a lineage of skilled craftsmen, clan officials, and loyal foresters of the Scottish Highlands.
Typical given names associated with the MacIntyre surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- David
- Donald
- Duncan
- Iain
- Ian
- James
- John
- Robert
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jane
- Jean
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname MacIntyre in...
Braille
⠍⠁⠉⠊⠝⠞⠽⠗⠑
Morse
--.--.-...-.--.--.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 3,471 people named MacIntyre in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,635th most common surname in Britain. Around 53 in a million people in Britain are named MacIntyre.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named MacIntyre
- Alasdair MacIntyre - Scottish philosopher
- Ben Macintyre - Author
- Robert MacIntyre -
- Colin MacIntyre - Scottish musician
- David Lowe MacIntyre - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1895 to 1967)
- Angus Macintyre - Mathematician
- Jason MacIntyre - Scottish racing cyclist (1973 to 2008)
- Kenny Macintyre - (1944 to 1999)
- Donald Macintyre - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1831 to 1903)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.