Esther Glickstein Rose coined the McDonald’s product name Big Mac in 1967.
Rose was an advertising secretary at McDonald’s corporate offices when she suggested the name for the company’s new double-decker hamburger. The name was selected over other proposals and became one of the most enduring product brands in fast-food history.
The Big Mac had been developed as a larger sandwich with two beef patties, a middle bun section, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and sauce. Its distinctive name helped separate it from ordinary hamburger offerings and gave McDonald’s a memorable product identity for advertising and menus.
A common misconception is that the name was invented by a senior executive or an advertising agency. Historical accounts credit Rose, who was not a top executive, with proposing it. The sandwich was introduced nationally in the United States in 1968, after regional testing and promotion.