McDonald’s trademarked the name Big Mac for its signature double-decker hamburger introduced in 1967.
The Big Mac was created by franchisee Jim Delligatti, who operated McDonald’s restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. It used two beef patties, a special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a three-part sesame-seed bun. The product gave McDonald’s a distinctive flagship item at a time when larger specialty hamburgers were becoming popular.
The sandwich was first tested in 1967 and introduced nationally in the United States in 1968. Its name became an important part of McDonald’s product branding because it was short, memorable, and closely tied to the company’s identity.
The Big Mac is sometimes confused with the McDouble, but the McDouble has a different construction and was introduced much later. The “Big Mac” name specifically belongs to the two-patty signature sandwich.