The stories of how 7 famous fast-food chains got their names

If you think for a second (or took high school Latin), you can probably figure out where Panera gets its name.

The company was originally called St. Louis Bread, but in 1998, changed its name to Panera, which founder Ron Shaich said has its roots in the Latin word for “breadbasket.” The translation makes even more sense when you know that, when the name was adopted, Panera was owned by Au Bon Pain — French for “the place of good bread.”

While plenty of chains are named after their founders, Little Caesars has a special twist.

Founders Mike and Marian Ilitch originally considered calling the restaurant ‘Pizza Treat,’ but Marian thought the name was too generic. Even though they had only been married for four years when they founded the chain, Marian had no doubts that Mike would become a pizza emperor. Her pet name for 5-foot-9 Mike was her “Little Caesar.”

Arby’s is widely rumored to be named after its famous roast beef sandwich — an "R. B." sandwich.

In fact, the chain is named after R.B., but not the meat. It comes from Leroy and Forrest Raffel, the Raffel Brothers, or "RB," the chain says on its website.

The pizza chain could have been called Pizza Inn or Pizza Pad — as long as the second part of the name was only three letters.

A local Coca-Cola distributor had provided founders Dan and Frank Carney with a complimentary sign when they prepared to open their first location. The sign was larger on top than the bottom, meaning it could fit five letters on top but only three underneath. Pizza was an obvious choice for the first word, and “hut” beat out the competition because Dan’s wife, Beverly, said the building looks like a hut.

The pun in Chick-fil-A’s name is pretty obvious: the chain serves chicken fillets.

The “A,” however, has a double meaning. The company says that the letter symbolizes the high quality of food served.

Troy Smith’s root beer stand which would one day become Sonic was originally called “Top Hat.” However, since the phrase had already been trademarked, he decided to come up with a new name.

The alternative name was Sonic, thanks to the preexisting tagline, “Service at the Speed of Sound.” The first official Sonic drive-in opened in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1959.