# bloody mary **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-mary/171398 "2003-04-26T22:54:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jaytrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jaytrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaytrip)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-mary/171398/1 "2003-04-26T22:54:43Z")
Doesn anyone know hoe this popular cocktail got it’s name? Does it have anything to do with the infamous Typhoid Mary? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-mary/171398/2 "2003-04-26T23:01:41Z")
Mary I Tudor (1516-1558) was also known as ‘Bloody Mary’ - I _think_ it may derive from her. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-mary/171398/3 "2003-04-26T23:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > The origin of the name “Bloody Mary” is almost as elusive as the perfect combination of its ingredients. It is often thought of as a reference to Queen Mary 1 of England who was given the nickname “Bloody Mary” after murdering hundreds of Protestants. But, according to [www.tabasco.com](http://www.tabasco.com) and other online sources, the name most likely came from one of Petoit’s customers who said that the color of the cocktail reminded him of the Bucket of Blood Club in Chicago, and specifically of a girl there named Mary. Other speculations on the name include a reference to Mary Pickford, an American actress in the 1930s. [http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/food/article/0,1713,BDC\_2517\_1773820,00.html](http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/food/article/0,1713,BDC_2517_1773820,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-mary/171398/4 "2003-04-27T00:10:06Z")
While the stories of the bars in France may be true, the first cite in print for the name is, I believe, 1939 in NY. Supplied, as usualy, by Barry Popik. Barry argues against the early 1920’s origin, principally because it doesn’t appear in bartender guides from the early-mid-30’s. He also proposes that commercial tomato juice just wasn’t around in the ealy 1920’s, thus it wasn’t something that a bar had sitting around. I hope that I’ve presented his ideas correctly. I know this doesn’t help you decide where the name came from.