The INSIDER Summary:

• INSIDER found the funny, bizarre, and historic origin stories behind the names of 21 popular foods and drinks.
• Cobb salad was named after the owner of the Hollywood Brown Derby, who created the salad from leftovers he found in his fridge.
• The Shirley Temple was, of course, named after the pint-sized starlet, although she supposedly disliked the drink herself.

What's in a name? You may already know that the Earl of Sandwich supposedly invented his eponymous meal in the 18th century, but did you know that bananas foster, Granny Smith apples, and Caesar salad were also named after real people? And no — the latter is not named after Julius Caesar.

INSIDER rounded up 21 popular foods and drinks that were named after real people, as well as the fascinating, funny, and sometimes downright bizarre origin stories that go with them. 

Keep scrolling to get a slice of culinary history. 

Arnold Palmer, named after the popular golfer

The late Arnold Palmer "invented" this simple mocktail by mixing his wife's homemade iced tea with lemonade. He loved the concoction so much that he was known for taking a thermos of it with him almost every time he went golfing. By the 1960s, the drink was already known as the "Arnold Palmer."

Bananas Foster, named after a New Orleans crime-stopper

Bananas Foster — caramelized bananas over ice cream — was originally invented in New Orleans in the early 1950s at a restaurant called Brennan's. Brennan's owner, Owen Brennan, challenged his chef to create a dish using bananas (a major import in New Orleans at the time), and Chef Paul Blange created this fiery dessert and named it in honor of Richard Foster, the New Orleans Crime Commission chairman and Brennan's good friend.

Caesar Salad, named after a Mexican restaurateur (not the Roman emperor)

Most people assume that the Caesar salad is named after Julius Caesar, but the salad's name actually comes from Caesar Cardini, a Mexican restaurateur who invented the dish in Tijuana when he was running out of food during a 4th of July rush in 1924. He allegedly staunchly opposed putting anchovies into the salad, which many recipes call for. 

Carpaccio, named after an Italian artist

According to gastronomic lore, this dish of thinly-sliced meat was invented by Harry's bar owner Giuseppe Cipriani, who named his creation after the Italian painter Vittore Carpaccio, who was known for using a similar shade of red in his paintings. 

Cobb Salad, named after the owner of Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant

Cobb salad is yet another "kitchen sink scramble" dish. It was invented by Bob Cobb, proprietor of the famously star-studded Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in 1937.

After a long shift, Cobb had not yet eaten dinner and was rummaging through the restaurant fridge's leftovers, throwing what he found together with the line cook's recently discarded bacon ends to create a salad. He chopped it up and dressed it with French dressing. The next day, a wealthy regular customer requested the "Cobb salad," and the rest is history.  

Eggs Benedict, said to be named after a stockbroker staying at the Waldorf Hotel

Allegedly, Lemuel Benedict, a wealthy stockbroker staying at New York's Waldorf Hotel in 1894, created this dish as a hangover cure. He woke up after a night of drinking and ordered two poached eggs, bacon, toast, and a pitcher of hollandaise sauce to ward off the worst of the pain. The owner of the Waldorf hotel promptly placed the curious creation on the menu and it took off.

However, this story remains contested. Years later, a "Bon Appetit" magazine article credited a Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedict with inventing the egg dish at the famous Delmonico's restaurant in NYC. 

Fettuccine Alfredo, named after a chef's wife who suffered from bad morning sickness

Fettucine Alfredo, the creamy pasta made with Parmigiano-Reggiano and butter, was originally invented by an Italian restaurateur to help alleviate his wife's morning sickness.

In 1914, so the story goes, Roman restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio was trying to find something to make for his pregnant wife, who was suffering from bad bouts of nausea. He decided to toss butter and Parmesan together to make a simple "pasta bianca" for his ailing wife.

After the simple dish was added to the menu, two American tourists (and popular silent film actors) Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford became enamored with it, and brought the recipe home, bragging about it to the rest of the Hollywood elite. Thereafter, "Fettuccine Alfredo" became known as an American delicacy. 

General Tso's chicken, named after a 19th century Chinese general

Yes, General Tso is a real person. But while we know that this popular takeout dish is named after the brave 19th century general Tso Tsung-t'ang, the identity of the dish's creator remains hotly contested, and there was even an entire documentary about it.

German Chocolate Cake, named after an American baker, not the country

This rich chocolate cake recipe was not invented in Germany, but is actually an American creation. During the 19th century, baker Sam German patented a baking bar called "Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate."

In 1957, a chocolate cake recipe using "German's Sweet Chocolate" was published in a Dallas newspaper, and sales for the baking bar skyrocketed. Eventually, the apostrophe and the s were dropped over time, and the recipe became known as German Chocolate Cake. 

Graham crackers, named after a Presbyterian minister who believed sex was evil

You never knew that the base for s'mores was invented by a prudish preacher, did you? Reverend Sylvester Graham was an 18th century Presbyterian minister who believed that lust was the the root of most health problems. He touted a mainly vegetarian diet consisting of plenty of unsifted whole wheat. The first graham crackers were a nod to his quirky dietary regimen. 

Granny Smith apples, named after Maria "Granny" Smith

Maria "Granny" Smith was a real person who owned an orchard with her family in Sydney, Australia. In 1868, after discarding some unwanted crab apples onto a compost heap of other apple scraps, a small tree grew in its stead consisting of the hard, bright green apples we know and buy at the supermarket today. The cross hybrid apple became forever known as the Granny Smith. 

Kung Pao Chicken, named after a Szechuan governor

King Pao chicken may have become watered down and Americanized, but it has its roots in traditional Szechuan cuisine. The original name is "Gong Bao chicken," and it's named after a 19th century late Qing Dynasty governor of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen, who was enamored with it.

As the legend goes, the chopped chicken dish was invented because Ding Baozhen had bad teeth and could not bite into large pieces of meat, but that part of the story may be just a myth. 

Nachos, named after a Mexican restaurateur who was entertaining World War II military wives

Nachos were invented in a small Mexican village in 1943 when a local restaurant was overwhelmed by a large group of military wives whose husbands were stationed at a nearby Texas base.

Although the restaurant was closed, the maître d', Ignacio Anaya, scrounged around to whip up a meal for the group. What he came up with was a snack of fried tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and jalapenos. He named his creation after himself, shortening his name to call them "Nachos Especiales."

Margherita pizza, named after an Italian queen

Pizza Margherita is a Neapolitan-style pie that was named as an homage to the Italian Queen Margherita, who visited Naples in 1889.

Reuben sandwich, said to be named after a hungry poker player

There are two competing tales that claim the origin story of the famous corned beef sandwich. In one, a late-night poker game in Omaha in 1920 resulted in a serious case of midnight snack cravings. Gambler Reuben Kulakofsky ordered a corned beef and sauerkraut sandwich and the chef whipped up the sandwich we now call the Reuben. It was later added to the menu and became an instant hit. (Other versions of the story claim that Kulakofsky assembled the sandwich himself.)

Other accounts claim that it was invented by New York City restaurateur Arnold Reuben several years before, but that the original sandwich had turkey in addition to corned beef on rye bread.  

The sandwich, named after the Earl of Sandwich

The fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, who lived during the 18th century, was famous for having a gambling problem, often becoming so absorbed in his card games that he didn't have time to get up an eat a full meal. Instead, he asked his chef for meat between two slices of bread, and the simple and convenient dish caught on. Soon, any meat between two slices of bread was known as a sandwich.

Of course, Montagu was not the first person to think of this style of lunching, as peasant farmers had been doing it during the workday for centuries before. However, he did make sandwiches fashionable. 

Salisbury Steak, named after one of America's first fad diet inventors

Dr. James Henry Salisbury was probably one of America's first known fad dietitians. In his 19th century book, he detailed that minced beef is desirable for a healthy diet because it is "least liable to ferment with alcohol and acid yeasts." The popularity of minced meat continued long after Salisbury's death, and the ground-up steak slathered in brown sauce became known as Salisbury Steak. 

Shirley Temple, named after the famous silver screen starlet

Of course, the Shirley Temple mocktail drink is named after the famous curly-haired starlet. As legend goes, the drink was invented at Chasen's, a Beverly Hills restaurants where Shirley Temple's birthday was being held. The bartender whipped up this kid-friendly cocktail especially for the child actress.

However, other restaurants like The Brown Derby have also laid claim to the invention of the drink. Either way, the actress herself supposedly disliked her eponymous drink, and was not thrilled with the idea of creating cocktails for children.

Tootsie Roll, named after the inventor's young daughter

The Tootsie Roll's origins are perhaps one of the most endearing. Tootsie Roll inventor Leo Hirshfield allegedly named his popular taffy-like candies in 1896 after his then five-year-old daughter Clara, nicknamed "Tootsie." But even this sweet story has some gaps in it, as some say that the candies were named after a child actress who did commercials for jellied desserts.

Baby Ruth, said to be named after the baseball legend

For such a simple candy bar, Baby Ruth certainly has a complex origin, as who the bar is named after remains disputed. The company has officially stated that its popular chocolate bar is actually not named after the "Sultan of Swat," Babe Ruth, but after Ruth Cleveland, Grover Cleveland's daughter.

However, the timelines don't match up because Ruth Cleveland died 17 years before Baby Ruth was first made. It's suspected that the candy bar is named after Babe Ruth, but that the Ruth Cleveland backstory was invented to avoid legal issues. 

Beef Wellington, said to be named after the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, is mainly known for his militaristic stand against Napoleon, but as culinary mythology goes, he invented this dish to serve his soldiers because it looked so much like his eponymous boots. Sadly, there's no proof that this tale is true, and it doesn't appear in cookbooks until the 20th century.  

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