McDonald's adopted the name “McDonald's Corporation” in 1960, replacing “McDonald's System, Inc.”
The change reflected the company's transition from a restaurant operation built around a distinctive service method into a large franchising organization with a nationally recognizable identity. Ray Kroc had opened the first restaurant under his operating company in 1955, but the corporate name change came five years later.
The new name also aligned the legal company more directly with the consumer-facing brand. Corporate naming can seem separate from visual branding, yet it matters because the name appears in contracts, public filings, franchise relationships, and business communications.
This date is sometimes confused with 1965, when McDonald's became publicly traded. The two events were close in the company's expansion story, but they were not the same milestone: the corporate renaming came first.