Well, Wikipedia isn't very helpful. I can't find that the rhyme's been around for very long, as far as nursery rhymes go. There's no discussion of differences, just a mention that they exist. And it doesn't say where the song originated or ANYTHING.
Two ways it could have gone (that I'm imagining - can't find anything to back it up):
1) THE/AN ITSY BITSY SPIDER ... and a Brit thinks it's the spider's name and cuts off the article. That doesn't explain the change to Incy Wincy, though.
2) INCY WINCY SPIDER ... and an American assumes they must mean 'Itsy Bitsy', like the bikini, and adds the article in front of the adjective. I have to say, this one sounds more likely to me, becuase it mimics the pattern I've seen in other rhymes that change over time - someone's unfamiliar with a word and substitutes something that is meaningful for them.
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Coooooooooooool.
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(So far, the British people are going for "incy wincy", and the Americans are split between "itsy bitsy" and "eensy weensy"...)
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(Incy Wincy!)
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Two ways it could have gone (that I'm imagining - can't find anything to back it up):
1) THE/AN ITSY BITSY SPIDER
... and a Brit thinks it's the spider's name and cuts off the article.
That doesn't explain the change to Incy Wincy, though.
2) INCY WINCY SPIDER
... and an American assumes they must mean 'Itsy Bitsy', like the bikini, and adds the article in front of the adjective.
I have to say, this one sounds more likely to me, becuase it mimics the pattern I've seen in other rhymes that change over time - someone's unfamiliar with a word and substitutes something that is meaningful for them.