What name did McDonald's adopt for its company in 1960?

McDonald's adopted the name McDonald's Corporation in 1960.

The change reflected the company’s expansion beyond the original San Bernardino restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Ray Kroc had joined the business as a franchise agent, opened the Des Plaines restaurant in 1955, and built a growing organization around standardized operations and franchising. As the enterprise developed, its corporate name needed to represent a national chain rather than a single restaurant partnership.

The company had previously operated under names connected with the McDonald brothers and Kroc’s business arrangements. The 1960 corporate naming change helped establish a unified identity that matched the Golden Arches appearing on restaurants and advertising.

McDonald’s Corporation later became the formal corporate owner of the global restaurant system, although most individual restaurants have historically been operated by franchisees or company subsidiaries.