What two-word name is commonly used for McDonald’s yellow M-shaped corporate symbol?

“Golden Arches” is the common name for McDonald’s yellow M-shaped corporate symbol.

The term originally described the large yellow arches built into McDonald’s restaurant designs. Architect Stanley Clark Meston developed the architectural concept in the early 1950s, and the first restaurant using the design opened in Phoenix in 1953.

In 1962, graphic designer Jim Schindler combined the arches into the stylized M used as the company logo. The architectural feature therefore became a graphic trademark, and “Golden Arches” came to identify both the buildings and the logo.

The phrase is sometimes mistakenly treated as the official name of the letter M itself or confused with generic terms such as “yellow arches.” Its importance comes from the way McDonald’s turned a building feature into a global brand symbol recognizable even without the company name.