The McDonald's menu item that received the “Big Mac” name when it debuted nationally in 1968 was the Big Mac.
The sandwich was created by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald's franchisee who operated restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. He developed a larger hamburger with two beef patties, a middle bun section, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and the sauce that became associated with the product. The sandwich first appeared in the Pittsburgh region before national rollout.
McDonald's introduced the Big Mac nationally in 1968, making it one of the company’s most important branded menu items. Its name was short, memorable, and distinct from the ordinary hamburger terminology used for many other products. The sandwich later became a widely recognized symbol of McDonald's international menu.
The Big Mac is often confused with the Big Mac Index, an economic comparison created by The Economist in 1986. The index uses the sandwich’s price; it is not a McDonald's advertising slogan or a separate menu product.