What was Burger King called before it adopted its current name in 1954?

Burger King was called Insta-Burger King before it adopted its current name in 1954. Keith Kramer and his wife’s uncle, Matthew Burns, established the original company in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953.

The name came from the Insta-Broiler, a cooking machine used by the founders. When the business encountered financial difficulties, David Edgerton and James McLamore acquired the company’s Jacksonville operations in 1954. They renamed it Burger King and began expanding the concept.

Burger King later became especially associated with the Whopper, introduced in 1957. The original Insta-Burger King name is sometimes confused with the chain’s later branding, but it was the company’s name during its first year of operation.