The company was originally called Kentucky Fried Chicken, but the official name is now KFC. Despite claims that the name was changed to eliminate the word "fried," thus making it seem healthier, there was a far more practical reason behind the name change. In 1990, the Commonwealth of Kentucky trademarked their name, which meant that if KFC continued to use their original name they would be required to pay licensing fees. Unwilling to comply with this, they opted to instead change the company's name to KFC, an acronym which many people were already using.