Do you want to know the code name of the next macOS? Are you curious to know what the first Apple operating system was called? Do you want to know more about the history of Apple by discovering the code names of all its versions Mac OS X and macOS?
If you answered yes to any (or all) of the questions above, you’re in the right place, as we’ve listed below the names of the different versions of the Mac operating system, as well as the code names that Apple used to refer to each of them.
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If we turn our attention to the early macOS and Mac OS X operating systems, we can see that a pattern was followed from the very beginning. With the exception of the first OS X beta, all versions of the Mac operating system from 2001 to 2012 were named after big cats, such as Cheetah or Panther.
Although feline names are used publicly, wine names are used internally in the company (with the exception of OS X 10.6 and macOS 10.13, the two systems that did not have any code names).
Even after Apple changed the code names to California sites in 2013, wine names continued to be used internally until 2014. In 2015, Apple changed the code names again, this time to apple type names.
A year later, in 2016, the apple company decided to unify the brand of operating systems from Mac OS X to macOS, thus unifying with operating systems of other Apple products such as iOS, tvOS or watchOS.
Below is a complete list of the public code names of OS X versions, along with the code names that were used internally (if any).
Mac OS X & macOS code names
- OS X 10 beta: Kodiak – September 13, 2000
- OS X 10.0: Cheetah – March 24, 2001
- OS X 10.1: Cougar – September 25, 2001
- OS X 10.2: Jaguar – August 24, 2002
- OS X 10.3 Panther (Pinot) – October 24, 2003
- OS X 10.4 Tiger (Merlot) – April 29, 2005
- [OS X 10.4.4 Tiger (Chardonnay)]
- OS X 10.5 Leopard (Chablis) – October 26, 2007
- OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard – August 28, 2009
- OS X 10.7 Lion (Barolo) – July 20, 2011
- OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (Zinfandel) – July 25, 2012
- OS X 10.9 Mavericks (Cabernet) – October 22, 2013
- OS X 10.10: Yosemite (Syrah) – October 16, 2014
- OS X 10.11: El Capitan (Gala) – September 30, 2015
- macOS 10.12: Sierra (Fuji) – September 20, 2016
- macOS 10.13: High Sierra (Wolf) – September 25, 2017
- macOS 10.14: Mojave (Liberty) – September 24, 2018
- macOS 10.15 Catalina (Jazz) – 7 October 2019
- macOS 11 Big Sur – November 12, 2020
- macOS 12 Monterey – October 2021
- macOS 13 Ventura – June 2022 (not yet available)
The latest macOS version
The latest available version of macOS as of today is macOS Monterey, also known as macOS 12. This version was announced on June 7, 2021 and is available from October 2021 to install on all supported devices.
However, the latest version of macOS announced is macOS 13 Ventura, just announced at Apple’s WWDC event in June 2022.
If you want an older version of macOS, check out our article on how to get older versions of macOS and Mac OS X.
Whatever version of macOS you’re using, you should always keep it up to date with the latest updates and security fixes from Apple.
Apple releases various updates to the operating system throughout the year, so you can expect updates from time to time.
To find out the compatibility of your equipment, consult What version of macOS is compatible with your Mac?.
