Jef Raskin originally named the massive Macintosh project at Apple after his absolute favorite variety of apple, the McIntosh, specifically because he considered it a delicious and reliable piece of fruit.

A project name that escaped the lab

At Apple, “Macintosh” began as the name of a computer project, not as a polished product label. Project names often help a team refer to an idea while it is still being built; they are not automatically cleared for public use. In this case, the name had a practical complication: McIntosh was already associated with an audio-equipment maker.

Why the spelling mattered

Changing McIntosh to Macintosh kept the spoken reference to the apple while making the written name distinct. That distinction mattered because trademarks help identify whose products a name points to. A different spelling does not by itself settle every legal question, but it can make a name more distinguishable and reduce the risk of a conflict.

The name ultimately stayed with the computer rather than disappearing when the project reached customers. A small adjustment made for practical reasons thus carried Raskin’s original fruit-inspired choice from an internal project into the product’s public identity.