[mactheref]

I have done considerable research on the name Ballantine or Ballantyne and it's various derivitives. First of all there isnt one spelling thats more Scottish than others. There seems to be possibly 1 origin that split? or 2 origins. The first is the common thought that we initially were from Roxburghshire/ or Selkirkshire area of the borders region. This is the area that the traditional origin of the lighting of the fires to honour Bal stems from. The family crest/ coat of arms for that Ballantyne family is very distinct from its western Scotland equivalent.
The Ayrshire Lanarkshire Ballantines are thought to have come from an origin of the Bannatynes of the Isle Of Bute.The coat of arms is different and the spelling is different. This would put them in the Stuart of Bute clan as opposed to the Ballantynes being in the Campbell clan
This does not mean that at one time there wasnt 1 big happy family whose name was spelled different for various reasons such as the poll tax which encouraged people to change the spelling of there surname to avoid the tax or government officials spelling it badly or ...heaven forbid... there were squabbles and one person decided to not be associated to THAT person any more by changing the spelling of the name slightly.
All of these are possible. I have seen in my own family research that my surname was changed in government documents many times and sometimes on the same form. I habe seen Ballantine, Ballantyne, Valentine,Balentine, Ballington, Blanton,Ballantini and the list goes on.
So... I say hey! whatever you believe about your own spelling and if your happy then who's to say that your not correct because it's so convoluted that no one has a definitive answer