Why is it called a hamburger when it is made out of beef?
The short answer
Hamburgers are named after Hamburg, Germany, not ham. German immigrants brought a fried patty called the "Hamburg steak" to America, and when someone thought to put it between two slices of bread, the sandwich became known as a "hamburger."
The long answer
A hamburger may seem like a quintessentially American food, but — as you might have guessed – it has German origins.
Hamburgers get their namesake from Hamburg, Germany. In the 1800s, Hamburg was widely known for producing high-quality beef from cows that grazed outside the city.
The connection between Hamburg and cows is so strong that this lithograph of a slaughterhouse in Hamburg was the third result on Google when I searched "Hamburg 1800s".
"Schlachthaus Hamburg 1841 by Suhr" (modified) by Gebrüder Suhr is part of the public domain.
One common way that Hamburgers (literally what people from Hamburg are called) prepared beef was to chop it up, season it, and form it into patties that were usually fried. These beef patties, called frikadellen or buletten, have been on German plates for hundred of years.
Starting in the mid-1800s, a surge of German immigrants began coming to the United States, and they brought along their culinary delicacies, including frankfurters and beef patties. By the late 19th century, these patties were called "Hamburg steaks" likely because of Hamburg's reputation for high-quality beef.
"Hamburg-Steak" by MaedaAkihiko is licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0.
The name eventually shortened from "Hamburg steak" to "Hamburgs." And when someone had the bright idea to sandwich it between two slices of bread, it became "hamburger."
As for who had the idea for a Hamburg steak sandwich... it's highly contested. Claims have been made from restaurants, fair stands, and lunch wagons spanning Wisconsin, Connecticut, Ohio, New York, and Texas. But hamburgers became a national sensation at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, along with other now-iconic American foods like cotton candy, peanut butter, and waffle ice cream cones.
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Sources
Barksdale, N. (2025, May 27). Where Hamburgers Began—and How They Became an Iconic American Food. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/hamburger-helpers-the-history-of-americas-favorite-sandwich
Gutoskey, E. (2024, May 30). Why Is It Called a “Hamburger” If It Doesn’t Contain Ham? Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/language/words/why-is-it-called-a-hamburger
HowStuffWorks. (n.d.). Why the Name “Hamburger” If the Patty Has No Ham? HowStuffWorks. https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question425.htm
Lieberman, H. (2017a, May 25). Eating a hamburger in Hamburg, Germany. Eater. https://www.eater.com/2017/5/25/15678522/hamburgers-in-hamburg-germany-history
Vardaraj, A. (2025, July 24). Why Is It Called a Hamburger If There’s No Ham? Reader’s Digest. https://www.rd.com/article/why-is-it-called-a-hamburger-if-theres-no-ham/
We Americans sure do like American things.