Clan Rising

Clan Mackintosh

also McIntosh

Captains of Clan Chattan, of Moy Hall.

Origin
The Highlands & Islands, Scotland
Motto
Touch not the cat bot a glove
Famous bearer
'Colonel Anne' Mackintosh
Register
Scottish clan
Territory of Mackintosh

The seat of Clan Mackintosh

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Clan Mackintosh community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Clan Mackintosh has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Mackintosh clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Mackintosh clan →

Motto

Touch not the cat bot a glove

What does the Mackintosh name mean?

From the Gaelic 'Mac an Tòisich', son of the chief or thane.

The history of Clan Mackintosh

The Mackintoshes are recorded in the Highlands from the 12th century. From the 14th they held the leadership of the Clan Chattan, a confederation of smaller Highland clans including the Macphersons, Davidsons, Farquharsons and others, bound together for mutual defence.

Their seat was Moy Hall, south of Inverness. The clan's loyalties were tested across the Jacobite period: the chief in 1745 was a government officer, but his wife, 'Colonel Anne' Mackintosh, raised the clan for the prince in his absence, and saved Bonnie Prince Charlie from capture in the famous 'Rout of Moy'.

The Mackintosh chief's line continues to the present day, and Moy Hall remains in the family.

Champions of the Mackintosh name

The bearers whose lives are inseparable from this surname. Each has their own page, biography, achievements, geography, connection to the family.

Historic Places, Rebuilt

Explore the streets and seats the Mackintosh name knew, rebuilt with AI as they stood in history.

Or recreate your own castle →

Historic Places, Rebuilt · New

Explore Inverness in 1745Enter →

The old castle above the River Ness, the market cross and the seven-arched bridge, on the eve of Culloden.

Historic Places, Rebuilt · New

Explore Urquhart Castle in 1509Enter →

The great castle guarding the Great Glen, newly granted to the Grants of Freuchie, whole above Loch Ness.

Castles the Mackintosh held

Strongholds this name held for a decade or more, look one up, or rebuild it to explore.

  • Tor Castle

    Angus Mackintosh and Eva of Clan Chattan lived at Tor after their 1291 marriage, before withdrawing to Rothiemurchus.

  • Rait Castle

    Passed from the de Raits to the Mackintoshes in 1442.

  • Dalcross Castle

    Held by the Mackintoshes from soon after 1621; clan chief Sir Lachlan Mackintosh died here in 1704.

The castles of the homeland

The great strongholds of the homeland, look one up, see what it looked like in its prime, and recreate it to explore.

Edinburgh Castle, ScotlandEdinburgh CastleRestored · prime 1520Stirling Castle, ScotlandStirling CastleRestored · prime 1542Glamis Castle, ScotlandGlamis CastleStill standing · prime 1900

All castles in Scotland → · Strongest castles in Scotland → · Castles of Europe

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as a MackintoshStart your story →

Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth, the Mackintosh country, or a shore no Mackintosh ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Notable bearers of the Mackintosh name

  • 'Colonel Anne' Mackintosh

Stories of Clan Mackintosh

Frequently asked

What does the surname Mackintosh mean?

From the Gaelic 'Mac an Tòisich', son of the chief or thane. The Mackintoshes are recorded in the Highlands from the 12th century.

Where does the Mackintosh family come from?

The Mackintosh family is rooted in The Highlands & Islands, in Scotland. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Inverness & the Aird. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Is Mackintosh Scottish or Irish?

Mackintosh is a Scottish surname; its home on this atlas is Scotland, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated. The same or similar spellings can surface in Irish records, but the lineage documented on this page is the Scottish one.

How old is the Mackintosh surname?

The Mackintoshes are recorded in the Highlands from the 12th century. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Mackintosh name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Mackintosh family known for?

Captains of Clan Chattan, of Moy Hall. The Mackintoshes are recorded in the Highlands from the 12th century.

What is the Mackintosh motto?

The motto of the Mackintosh family is "Touch not the cat bot a glove". Family mottoes were registered with the chief of the name and carried on the heraldic arms and battle-banners.

Is there a Mackintosh family crest or coat of arms?

There is no single coat of arms that belongs to everyone named Mackintosh. Heraldic arms were granted to individuals and descend through specific documented lines, so a "family crest" matched to a surname alone is decorative rather than genealogical. In Scots heraldry the convention is different again: clansfolk wear the chief's crest inside a strap-and-buckle badge, the crest stays the chief's property, worn in allegiance rather than owned. The motto associated with the principal line is "Touch not the cat bot a glove".

Who is the most famous Mackintosh?

The best-known bearer of the Mackintosh name is 'Colonel Anne' Mackintosh. Their life and connection to the family are profiled in full on the dedicated champion page.

What stories are told about the Mackintosh family?

The Mackintosh family is associated with The Rout of Moy. Each story has its own page on this site with the full account, the date, the location, and the other families involved.

What is the story of the Rout of Moy?

In February 1746, with the Jacobite rising in retreat from Derby, Bonnie Prince Charlie was lodged for the night at Moy Hall, the seat of the chief of clan Mackintosh south of Inverness. The chief himself was a captain in a government regiment, away with his unit; his twenty-year-old wife Anne Farquharson, called Colonel Anne, had raised the Mackintosh men for the prince in his absence. The event is dated to 1746.

Who were the Mackintosh family's rivals?

Historical rivalries of the Mackintosh family include Clan Cameron. Each rivalry has its own thread in the broader history of Scotland, and the linked family pages give the other side of the same story.

Is McIntosh the same family as Mackintosh?

Yes. McIntosh is a historical spelling variant of the Mackintosh name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Mackintosh surname found today?

Scotland is the primary historical home of the Mackintosh surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same Scotland origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Mackintosh family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Mackintosh family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, the family motto, famous bearers of the name, traditional stories, historical rivals and allies and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of Scotland so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Mackintosh family today?

The seat for the head of the Mackintosh family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.

Rivals and allies

Neighbouring clans