Where The Name 'Dunkin'' Came From

Dunkin' is a global company, but in particular it is an icon of the American northeast, with over 1,000 locations in its home state of Massachusetts and over 1,400 in neighboring New York state. This accounts for more than 25% of the chain's total U.S. locations. Throughout its history, Dunkin' has had an iconic brand presence, including a raft of memes and product tie-ins related to Ben Affleck's famous love for the chain. Even his brother Casey got in on the Dunkin' action for this hilarious SNL skit back in 2017.

The former name of Dunkin' Donuts was so iconic that, in 2018, the company dropped the "donuts" to become just Dunkin' — and its strong appeal endured. The story behind such an unusual name actually has a simple beginning, with what became the very first Dunkin' Donuts location in Quincy, Massachusetts.

After the industrial production boom that helped the Allies win World War II, former shipyard worker William Rosenberg opened a successful lunch cart business targeted at factory laborers. Eventually, Rosenberg noticed that coffee and donuts were 40% of his sales, and opened a storefront in Quincy, named Open Kettle, that soon got renamed after a common customer habit — dunking the donuts.

Rosenberg latched onto the concept and the alliteration, where donuts were baked with an actual handle were introduced in 1950 with the tagline "we call it Dunkin the Donut." The idea was successful enough that it became the name Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' leaned into the simple idea for years. A 1956 version of the logo featured Dunkie, a Pillsbury Doughboy-like donut man, holding a tray of donuts with his round donut body inside a cup of coffee bearing the company name.

Beginning in 1960, Dunkin' introduced a simpler logo — and the chain's signature "powdered candy" pink color — with a silhouette of a donut, formed by the name "Dunkin' Donuts," being dunked into a cup of coffee. This design lasted into the mid-1970s, cementing the concept in consumers' minds. Although the corporation now does business simply as Dunkin', the original storefront in Quincy, MA features a throwback exterior to pay homage to its historical roots, including a 50s vintage-style sign in handwriting script that still says "Dunkin' Donuts."