What was McDonald’s original company name when Ray Kroc incorporated the business in 1955?

Ray Kroc incorporated the business in 1955 under the name McDonald’s System, Inc.

The name reflected the company’s central purpose at that stage: expanding the McDonald brothers’ standardized restaurant operating system through franchising. Kroc was not simply opening an independent hamburger chain; he was building an organization around uniform procedures, equipment, menus, and service.

The corporation later changed its name to McDonald’s Corporation in 1960. That change accompanied the company’s broader development as a large restaurant business and brand rather than an organization described primarily as a “system.”

This history is often simplified by saying McDonald’s Corporation began in 1955. The business was incorporated that year, but the formal corporate name was initially McDonald’s System, Inc. The 1960 change is therefore an important detail in the company’s branding and legal history.