What name did McDonald's adopt for its corporate company in 1965?

McDonald's adopted the corporate name McDonald's Corporation in 1965.

The name marked the company's transition from a growing franchise operation into a publicly traded national restaurant corporation. McDonald's had incorporated as McDonald's Systems, Inc. in 1955, during Ray Kroc's early expansion of the brothers' operating model.

By the mid-1960s, the company was building a more unified identity across restaurants, franchise agreements, advertising, and investor communications. The corporate name helped distinguish the parent company from individual franchise locations while reinforcing a consistent consumer brand.

McDonald's stock began trading publicly in 1965, the same year associated with the corporate-name change. The company later expanded internationally and developed many sub-brands, but McDonald's Corporation remained the central legal and corporate identity for decades.