# Why did Kentucky Fried Chicken become KFC?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 26, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560 "2005-09-26T21:38:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/1 "2005-09-26T21:38:58Z")
Any reason behind the shortening of the name or was it just an advertising thing? Making it easier to say or something like that…?
I don’t think they all changed…most most did. Most around here anyway (Arizona).
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/2 "2005-09-26T21:46:43Z")
In the UK at least, they found it impossible to prevent independent outlets operating under such names as _Kansas Fried Chicken_, _Krunchy Fried Chicken_ etc., all with a white-on-red shop front. ‘KFC’, I suspect, was easier to enforce.
Plus, they were probably moving into non-English speaking markets, where an identity which didn’t revolve around one language would be helpful.
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### Author:  [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/3 "2005-09-26T21:48:54Z")
What I’ve read (no cites, sorry) is that they are trying to de-emphasize the word “fried,” what with fried foods usually being higher in fat content. However, there is this [silly rumor](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.asp) that what they sell is no longer chicken
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### Author:  [@John\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_F)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/4 "2005-09-26T21:50:59Z")
What are the rules in GQ about taking a WAG?
My guess is that it has to do with the word “fried” and distancing from it. My only evidence is that early on they tried to shift the brand to Kitchen Fresh Chicken but from what I can see now they have backed away from that angle.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/5 "2005-09-26T21:57:27Z")
I don’t buy the idea that they’re trying to avoid the word ‘fried’, because the very first sentence on [www.kfc.com](http://www.kfc.com) includes “_Colonel Harland Sanders first gave the world a taste of his most famous creation, Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken_”.
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### Author:  [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/6 "2005-09-26T21:58:46Z")
I always thought that it was intentional pandering to black people, who make up a large chunk of KFC’s consumer base and who have almost exclusively been the targets of their advertisements for two decades now. It seems to me that the “KFC” name chance happened just as their advertisements “went black” with things like an animated breakdancing and basketball dunking Colonel.
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### Author:  [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/7 "2005-09-26T22:00:52Z")
[Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/lost/kfc.htm) can be your friend.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/8 "2005-09-26T22:01:05Z")
As I drove through rural Nevada, I saw that a lot of KFC’s still had the “Kentucky Fried Chicken” moniker.
Down here in Mexico, it seems like they’re all caught up to KFC’ifying. At the work cafeteria, they call fried chicken “pollo Kentucky” but I don’t know if that’s just at work, a regional (Sonora) thing, or something the whole country does. I guess I should go to the local Churches and see if they have “pollo Kentucky.”
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### Author:  [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/9 "2005-09-26T22:12:24Z")
> [@ticker](#):
>
> [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/lost/kfc.htm) can be your friend.
Wow! Kentucky sucks! How the hell can you come along and charge royalties on a name that has been used for decades? You shouldn’t be able to change the rules ex post facto.
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### Author:  [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/10 "2005-09-26T22:21:34Z")
> [@ticker](#):
>
> [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/lost/kfc.htm) can be your friend.
That comes from the section _The Repository Of Lost Legends (T.R.O.L.L.)_ It’s a [joke.](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm)
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/11 "2005-09-26T22:25:26Z")
Can Kentucky even trademark there state name that way? KFC was using Kentucky long before the state trademarked it.
Actually a quick bit of googling only turns this up on blogs and such. Does someone have a link to something more substantial than snopes?
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/12 "2005-09-26T22:27:02Z")
Too late. I looked even tried to figureout if this was one of the joke ones.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/13 "2005-09-26T22:27:54Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#):
>
> That comes from the section _The Repository Of Lost Legends (T.R.O.L.L.)_ It’s a [joke.](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm)
Well, shame on Snopes. The page linked to looked like a normal Snopes page. Nothing suggested that it was Snopes demonstrating self-awareness by exhibiting their mistakes. Not only is this frustrating, but I also immediately doubt any previous occassion I’ve followed a link to Snopes.
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/14 "2005-09-26T22:28:57Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#):
>
> That comes from the section _The Repository Of Lost Legends (T.R.O.L.L.)_ It’s a [joke.](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm)
I have to admit, that’s the first time that my BS detector has gone off while reading Snopes. I kept having the urge to reply to the article with “Cite?” but realizing I couldn’t because it wasn’t on SDMB.
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### Author:  [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/15 "2005-09-26T22:32:46Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#):
>
> I have to admit, that’s the first time that my BS detector has gone off while reading Snopes. I kept having the urge to reply to the article with “Cite?” but realizing I couldn’t because it wasn’t on SDMB.
Well, maybe you should go down to the ‘additional information’ section, since that’s where snopes usually lists their references. (And for the lost legends, that’s where they linked the bullshit explainer.)
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/16 "2005-09-26T23:21:32Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#):
>
> Well, shame on Snopes. The page linked to looked like a normal Snopes page. Nothing suggested that it was Snopes demonstrating self-awareness by exhibiting their mistakes. Not only is this frustrating, but I also immediately doubt any previous occassion I’ve followed a link to Snopes.
That’s the whole point. The Mikkelsons don’t want you to take their site as the authoritative last word any more than you would the claims they debunk; hence, they provide sources from which they cite their contentions.
There are plenty of authoritative sources (_World Book Encyclopedia_, anyone) that are rife with errors and misquotations. If something doesn’t sound right, it bears checking out.
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/17 "2005-09-26T23:41:44Z")
This question has, or will soon become, moot. KFC is changing itself back to Kentucky Fried Chicken.
[http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-30-2005-69337.asp](http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-30-2005-69337.asp)
> [@](#):
>
> After years of trying to downplay consumers’ image of their fried chicken being unhealthy, KFC has decided to turn its name back into Kentucky Fried Chicken, although the return to its original roots is a change in name only.
>
> _snip_
>
> The company plans to open 50 more such restaurants across the country this year. Owned by Yum Brands, Inc., KFC has served as one of the corporations flagship chains, along with Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. But KFC has been a thorn in Yum’s side in recent years because of flagging sales and consumers straying to more trendy, health-oriented fare in fast food. So to meet the demand for new, upscale fast food, KFC is going to provide the public with hip, new restaurants and products. The restaurants opening this year won’t be brand new franchises; they’ll be existing stores remodeled with new looks. They will all display the Kentucky Fried Chicken name and hip new Colonel, as well as the updated menu.
P.S. Entering Kentucky Fried Chicken name change into Google gives hundreds of hits on the story behind the hoax name change.
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### Author:  [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/18 "2005-09-27T00:18:54Z")
“…hip new Colonel…”
I see the colonel, still in suspenders, break dancing.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/19 "2005-09-27T00:29:28Z")
> [@VCO3](#):
>
> I always thought that it was intentional pandering to black people, who make up a large chunk of KFC’s consumer base and who have almost exclusively been the targets of their advertisements for two decades now. It seems to me that the “KFC” name chance happened just as their advertisements “went black” with things like an animated breakdancing and basketball dunking Colonel.
That was part of it, but in general it was an image change because of lagging sales, when other fast food was booming.
But apparently it hasn’t worked, as **Exapno Mapcase** cites above. So if they really thought having the word “fried” in the name were such an issue, they’d probably leave it as “KFC.” I bet they’re going to try something like an “original,” “old-time” type theme.
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### Author:  [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-kentucky-fried-chicken-become-kfc/323560/20 "2005-09-27T00:46:30Z")
A couple of years ago, some McDonald’s restaurants in Japan were converted into “M Dining” establishments that featured a more upscale, healthier menu. They didn’t sell burgers nor regular fries and soft drinks. They had deli-type sandwiches, natural juices and more salads. The restaurants were also remodeled into a “Starbucks”-like decor and the workers had specially-made uniforms.
Well, the outlet down the street from my office went back to being a regular McDonald’s within 6 months of opening.
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