What is the official name of McDonald's famous yellow “M” symbol?

McDonald's famous yellow “M” symbol is officially known as the Golden Arches.

The name comes from the large yellow arches incorporated into McDonald's restaurant buildings during the 1950s. Their shape was inspired by the architectural design created for the McDonald brothers' drive-in restaurants. The arches were originally physical structures rather than a flat logo.

In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the two arches into an “M”-shaped emblem for McDonald's. That mark gradually became more important than the building design itself and developed into the company's primary international identifier.

People sometimes call the symbol simply the “McDonald's logo,” which is understandable but less specific. “Golden Arches” refers to both the original architectural feature and the brand symbol derived from it. The phrase became so closely associated with the company that it could identify McDonald's without any lettering.