WENDY’S. Founder Dave Thomas tested out all five of his children’s names before settling on Wendy (sorry, irrelevant other four kids), which was his daughter Melinda’s nickname. The little redheaded girl became the face of the restaurant and as an adult, the real Wendy can be seen in commercials promoting the brand.

TACO BELL. Taco Bell might show images of Bells on its logo, but it really derived its name from the founder, Glen Bell. Interestingly enough the restaurant originally sold burgers at a fast food restaurant called ‘Bell’s Burger’, however, after realizing the market was already too saturated, he transitioned to selling the first tacos to the fast food world. And the name ‘Taco Bell’ came about after a friend suggested the title.

BOB EVANS. Robert “Bob” Lewis Evans opened a truck stop diner near his farm in Rio Grande, Ohio in 1946. Dissatisfied with the then current sausages on the market, he opted to make his own using hogs from his own farm. What’s a farmer equivalent to a mic drop? We’ll say Bob Pitchfork dropped hard after his decision.

MCDONALD’S. Before Ray Kroc turned a small local food establishment into the powerhouse chain it is today, McDonald’s was simply a BBQ drive-in in California. The then restaurant was founded by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald (otherwise known as Dick and Mac) who were the company’s namesake.

TIM HORTON’S. No big surprise here, this beloved Canadian doughnut shop was founded by then ice hockey player Tim Horton. The defenseman made a healthy 22 year stand in the sport before he opened a doughnut and coffee shop in 1964 as a way to make money once his hockey career wrapped-up.

JIMMY JOHN’S. Jimmy John Liautaud was just 19 years old when he opened Jimmy John’s in 1983. After graduating next-to-last in his prep school class, his father gave him the ultimatum of either joining the military or starting his own business. Liautaud took out a loan from his father and made by far the best decision of his life.

CARL’S JR. Founder Carl Karcher is the name behind Carl’s Jr. and he and his wife, Margaret, opened a drive-in BBQ called ‘Carl’s’ after finding success in hotdog carts of all things. It was in 1956 that Karcher opened two smaller restaurants and he called them Carl’s Jr. because of their size. Clever…very clever.

P.F. CHANG’S. This particular restaurant is a hybrid of two of the founder’s names. P.F. is derived from restaurateur Paul Fleming’s initials (middle-left), while Chang (middle-right) is a simplified spelling of chef Philip Chiang’s last name.

CHURCH’S CHICKEN. Church’s Chicken frankly his little to do with any religion but rather gets its name from founder George W. Church who opened the first chicken joint in 1952, across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio. People remembered it.

PAPA JOHN’S. By now, most people recognize the face of Papa John, because he is the man peddling the pizzas in near every commercial you see. His full name is John Schnatter and he opened the first Papa John’s back in 1985. The ‘Papa’ part of the name is said to be inspired by Schnatter’s grandfather, “Papaw” Ackerson.

SBARRO. The popular pizza joint got its name from founders Carmela and Gennaro Sbarro. The power couple opened up a deli in Brooklyn that was said to specialize in fresh imported meats from Italy. It was lated that the family-run business entered the pizza market and began to expand into what it is today. Believe it or not, Carmela was known as “Mama Sbarro” and became the mascot for the chain, working at the original Brooklyn location well into her 80s. Respect!

BASKIN-ROBBINS. Brothers-in-law Burton “Burt” Baskin and Irvine “Irv” Robbins both had an obsession for ice cream, so they each opened ice cream shops in California. Baskin’s Burton’s Ice Cream Shop and Robbins’ Snowbird Ice Cream eventually merged together in 1953.