NicksConey

The Hot Dog

From Ancient Sausages to the Coney Island Hot Dog: The Wiener's Story

What we now call the "Coney Island Hot Dog" has roots reaching back to ancient Babylonia around 1500 BC, the time of Hammurabi and his famous Code. Historians say the Babylonians were the first to stuff spiced meats into animal intestines. Sausages show up again in Homer's Odyssey (c. 800 BC). The Greeks called the food "orya," and the Romans called it "salsus"—the source of our word "sausage." The term "wiener" itself comes from Vienna, known in German as Wien.

What This Article Covers

  • Ancient origins of the sausage
  • How the wiener became a frankfurter
  • The frankfurter comes to America
  • Charles Feltman invents the "hot dog"
  • The hot dog becomes a hit
  • The dog in a bun = "Coney Island hot dog"

How the Wiener Became the Frankfurter

The American hot dog's direct ancestor emerged in the 1850s, when a colorful and influential butcher in Frankfurt, Germany persuaded his fellow sausage makers to add a slight curve so the sausage resembled his pet dachshund. The sausage grew popular and took the name "frankfurter," after the city where it was created.

The Frankfurter Arrives in America

The Coney Island hot dog takes its name from Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, where hot sausage sandwiches first appeared as America's "fun food." By the late 1800s Coney Island was quickly becoming the world's largest and finest amusement destination, with a beach resort and thrilling amusement parks that drew big crowds from nearby New York City. The area attracted many immigrants eager to make a living as food vendors.

Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the immigrant era when Coney Island food vendors built their businesses
New York's immigrant heritage helped shape Coney Island's food scene

Charles Feltman and the Invention of the "Hot Dog"

One such vendor was Charles Feltman, a German immigrant pie baker. When competition started to hurt his Coney Island bakery, friends urged him to sell hot sandwiches instead. In 1871 Feltman opened the first Coney Island hot dog stand, serving "red-hot dachshund sausages." The phrase "hot dog" was coined in 1901 by Hearst newspaper cartoonist Ted Dorgan, who sketched warm, barking dachshund sausages tucked into rolls and topped with mustard and relish. Unable to spell "dachshund," he simply labeled the food "hot dog."

The Hot Dog Becomes a Smash Hit

The hot dog was popular in America from the beginning. In his first year Feltman sold roughly 3,000 dachshund sausages in a milk roll, and sales took off. As his business grew, he hired a helper named Nathan Handwerker, who eventually left to start his own hot dog business after Feltman raised the price of a frank from 5 to 10 cents. Handwerker kept his franks at a nickel and ultimately outgrew the competition, leaving "Nathan's Famous" as the longest continuously operating hot dog outlet on Coney Island.

The Dog in a Bun Becomes the "Coney Island Hot Dog"

By the end of the first decade of the 1900s, America had a name for its new favorite food: the "Coney Island hot dog." Ironically, in an effort to separate the Coney Island name from "hot dog," the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce banned the term "hot dog" in 1913 in favor of "Coney Island Hots." It made little difference. By the mid-20th century, Americans everywhere knew the hot dog in a bun as a Coney Island hot dog.

Discover more New York amusement park history at this historical archive.

Common Questions About the Hot Dog

Where did the name "hot dog" originate?
As the history above explains, the term was coined in 1901 by Hearst newspaper cartoonist Ted Dorgan, who drew warm, barking dachshund sausages in rolls and, unable to spell "dachshund," called the food a "hot dog."
Why does the name "Coney Island hot dog" exist?
The Coney Island hot dog took its name from Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, where hot sausage sandwiches debuted as America's "fun food" and where Charles Feltman opened the first Coney Island hot dog stand in 1871.
Who was responsible for inventing the frankfurter?
The frankfurter emerged in the 1850s when an eccentric butcher in Frankfurt, Germany persuaded fellow sausage makers to curve the sausage slightly to resemble his pet dachshund. It was named after the city where it was developed.
How does a wiener differ from a frankfurter?
The term "wiener" comes from Vienna, spelled Wien in German, while "frankfurter" comes from Frankfurt. Both refer to the sausage that became the American hot dog.
Was the term "hot dog" actually banned on Coney Island?
Yes—in 1913 the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce banned the term "hot dog" in favor of "Coney Island Hots," though Americans everywhere continued to know the hot dog in a bun as a Coney Island hot dog.

The hot dog's story weaves together ancient sausage-making, German butchers, and the bustling immigrant food scene of Coney Island. Names like the wiener, the frankfurter, and the Coney Island hot dog all trace back to these overlapping traditions. Today the hot dog in a bun remains one of America's most recognizable foods, carrying a history that stretches across centuries and continents.