The Hermès Kelly bag was originally called the Sac à dépêches.
Hermès introduced the structured top-handle bag in the 1930s as a more compact version of an earlier travel bag. Its French name, Sac à dépêches, refers to a dispatch or document bag, reflecting its practical, formal design.
The bag became internationally associated with Grace Kelly after photographs showed the Hollywood actress and Princess of Monaco using one to conceal her pregnancy in 1956. Hermès subsequently renamed the model the Kelly bag in her honor.
A common mix-up is to assume the bag was created specifically for Kelly. The design already existed before her association with it. The Birkin bag is another famous Hermès model, but it was introduced decades later and has a different origin story involving Jane Birkin.