Clan MacIntosh
Crest & Motto
The MacIntosh crest shows a rampant wildcat, and the motto is Touch Not The Cat Bot A Glove. “Bot” is not a misprint: it is the authentic old spelling, meaning “without”, and it differs deliberately from the MacPherson version of the shared cat motto.
History
The name Mackintosh comes from the Gaelic Mac an Toisich, son of the thane. Clan tradition holds that the founder was Shaw MacDuff, a younger son of the Earl of Fife, who came north around 1163 as keeper of the royal castle of Inverness and received lands at Petty and in Strathdearn. The clan’s country has always run south from Inverness: Strathnairn, Strathdearn and the lands around Loch Moy.
The defining event in Mackintosh history came in 1291, when Angus, the sixth chief, married Eva, heiress of Clan Chattan. Through her the Mackintosh chiefs became captains of the great Chattan confederation, a role they held for almost 650 years. Leadership of Clan Chattan drew the Mackintoshes into long feuds, most famously with the Camerons, and Chattan champions fought in the staged clan battle on the North Inch of Perth in 1396.
In the 1745 rising the chief served in a government company, but his wife, Lady Anne Farquharson-Mackintosh, remembered as Colonel Anne, raised the clan for Prince Charles Edward Stuart. In February 1746 a handful of her men bluffed a government force into retreat at the Rout of Moy, saving the prince from capture. After Culloden the clan escaped forfeiture, and Moy Hall, on land held since 1336, remains the seat of the chiefs. Emigration in the 18th and 19th centuries carried Mackintoshes and their septs to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Clan Chief
The current chief is John Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh, 31st Chief, whose seat is Moy Hall near Inverness. The chiefship of the wider Clan Chattan confederation is held separately.
Clan Tartan
Septs and Family Names
Many family names are counted among the septs of Clan MacIntosh. If your surname appears here, your family history leads back to this clan: Adamson, Ayson, Aysons, Clark, Clarke, Clarkson, Clerk, Crerar, Dallas, Elder, Esson, Glen, Glennie, Gollan, Hardie, Hardy, Heggie, MacAndrew, MacAy, MacCardney, MacChiery, MacClerich, MacGlashan, MacHardie, MacHardy, MacHay, MacKeggie, MacKillican, MacLerie, MacNiven, MacRitchie, McConchy, Niven, Noble, Ritchie, Tarrill, Tosh, Toshach.
Unsure how clan names, crests and septs work? Our guide to Scottish clan names explains the rules.
Further reading
The Clan Mackintosh wiki page.
Clan Mackintosh of North America
The Clan Chattan Association, the umbrella body for the confederation.
The MacIntosh Crest as a 3D Model
You can download the MacIntosh crest as a 3D model file (£10 to £25) and print it on any 3D printer, or carve it in wood on a CNC machine.
See the MacIntosh lands south of Inverness on our interactive clan map of Scotland.
