The McDonald’s product name that became a registered trademark after the sandwich was introduced in 1967 was Big Mac.
Franchisee Jim Delligatti created the sandwich in western Pennsylvania, where it was tested before McDonald’s introduced it across the United States in 1968. The name “Big Mac” was suggested by a 21-year-old McDonald’s advertising secretary, Esther Glickstein Rose, although it was initially rejected before being adopted.
The sandwich uses two beef patties, a three-part sesame-seed bun, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and Big Mac sauce. Its distinctive name became an important piece of McDonald’s product branding, using the “Mc” naming style while emphasizing size.
The dates can cause confusion because the Big Mac was created and tested in 1967 but nationally introduced in 1968. The branding milestone is therefore tied to the product’s name and rollout, not to the date of its first local test.