MacIntyre vs McIntyre, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“MacIntyre” and “McIntyre” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,767
“MacIntyre” frequency rank: #25,469
“McIntyre” frequency rank: 69236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	MacIntyre	McIntyre
Definition	A surname from Scottish Gaelic.	A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set MacIntyre and McIntyre apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

MacIntyre

8 ch

McIntyre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. MacIntyre and McIntyre are pronounced identically (/ˈmækɪnˌtaɪə/) and both work as aname. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

MacIntyre is recorded at frequency rank #43,767, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈmækɪnˌtaɪə/. McIntyre is at rank #25,469, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈmækɪnˌtaɪə/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 69236, this pair ranks #55,443 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of MacIntyre vs McIntyre

Shared letters: ceimnrty. Private to "MacIntyre": a. Private to "McIntyre": -.

"MacIntyre" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "McIntyre" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

MacIntyre ← amcintyre · maccintyre · macinntyre · macintrye · macinttyre · macintyer · macintyrre · macintyyre
McIntyre ← cmintyre · mccintyre · mcinntyre · mcintrye · mcinttyre · mcintyer · mcintyrre · mcintyyre

Frequency comparison

MacIntyre#43,767

McIntyre#25,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "MacIntyre" and "McIntyre" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (/ˈmækɪnˌtaɪə/), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "MacIntyre" or "McIntyre"?

"McIntyre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,469 in our English list, against #43,767 for "MacIntyre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering MacIntyre vs McIntyre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “MacIntyre” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable