McDonald’s adopted the name “McDonald’s” after dropping “Bar-B-Q” from its restaurant name in 1953. The change reflected the restaurant’s move toward a more focused, hamburger-centered identity.
Richard and Maurice McDonald originally operated a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, they reorganized the business around a faster, limited menu built around hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, shakes, and soft drinks.
The shorter name made the brand easier to recognize and helped distinguish the streamlined service concept from a broader barbecue restaurant. Ray Kroc later expanded the system through franchising, preserving the McDonald’s name as the chain grew.
The name change is sometimes confused with the later franchising milestones. Kroc opened his first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955, but the restaurant name had already been established two years earlier.