In McDonald’s history, what was the first menu item to use the brand name “Big Mac”?

The first McDonald’s menu item to use the brand name “Big Mac” was the Big Mac hamburger.

McDonald’s introduced the Big Mac in 1967 at a restaurant in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Franchisee Jim Delligatti created the larger sandwich to compete with similar double-decker hamburgers sold by rival restaurants. It used two beef patties, a middle bun section, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and sauce.

The sandwich was initially tested in several markets before being introduced nationally in the United States in 1968. Its name and construction gave McDonald’s a signature product that could be recognized separately from the ordinary hamburger and cheeseburger.

People sometimes call it a “Big Mac sandwich” or a “Big Mac meal,” but the branded menu item itself is the Big Mac hamburger. A meal is a later serving combination, while the hamburger is the product whose name became internationally famous.