It’s easy to grab a hot dog at a summer barbecue, baseball game, or Fourth of July celebration without thinking about where it came from. But this simple sausage in a bun has a surprisingly complicated history. From European immigrants to Coney Island and baseball stadiums, the hot dog’s journey tells a story of culture, tradition, and the way food evolves.
Keep reading to find out where its name actually came from – and what a real hot dog vendor thinks of the hot dog.
Vienna vs. Frankfurt: Who invented the hot dog?
The exact origins of the hot dog are still debated, but one thing is clear: its roots trace back to Germany.
Two cities in particular, Frankfurt and Vienna, both claim to be the birthplace of the famous sausage. In fact, both towns can be credited for the different names we give the sausage. In Frankfurt, they called it a frankfurter while in Vienna (Wien in German), they called the hot dog a wienerwurst or wiener. These names are still used as a reminder of the food’s European history.
The hot dog arrives in America.
Although hot dogs have been around since 1484, their introduction in America didn’t happen until the 1870’s when German and Austrian immigrants started selling them in New York City.
The first man to do this was Charles Feltman who sold hot dogs with a milk bun on Coney Island to allow for convenience and prevent customers from burning their hands. His stand created the modern day hot dog as hot dogs were now found with an accompanying bun.
Why hot dogs define summer.
The hot dog’s association with summer was no accident. Because they were affordable, portable, and easy to eat, vendors started selling them at baseball games as early as the 1890s. This allowed fans to enjoy a quick snack without ever having to leave their seats, establishing the hot dog as the perfect match for America’s favorite pastime.
For Long Island food truck Kups Krazy Dogs’ owner Richard Kuplen, the connection between hot dogs and summer isn’t just tradition — it’s something he sees firsthand every year. While the truck operates year-round, he says there’s no comparison between summer and the colder months.
“In the wintertime, it’s a little slow. It’s all weather-driven too,” he told Spoon University. “When it rains or it snows — or there’s even one cloud in the sky — it messes up the whole day.”
He believes hot dogs have become such a summer staple because they’re simple, nostalgic, and closely tied to classic American cookouts.
“It’s kind of an Americana type of thing. Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak — you throw a couple hot dogs on the barbecue and that’s it. That’s why hot dogs are pretty much a summertime thing.”
His best-selling item is a homemade chili cheese dog made with his mother’s family chili recipe, but one of his most memorable orders perfectly captures why he associates hot dogs with summer. Before he had even officially opened one morning, a customer stopped by and ordered a whopping 15 chili cheese dogs.
“I asked if he wanted bacon, egg, and cheese instead, and he said, ‘No, we’re going to the beach.'”
For him, moments like that reflect why hot dogs have become such a summertime staple. But, although hot dogs remain a summer favorite, he says running a hot dog business isn’t always easy. Between town regulations and health department requirements, opening a food truck takes persistence.
His advice is simple: “Be consistent, be yourself, and don’t worry about what everyone else is doing.”
For Richard Kuplen, hot dogs and summer simply go hand in hand. From family barbecues to beach days, he sees customers turning to hot dogs because they’re familiar, affordable, and rooted in American tradition. While their history stretches back centuries, their place in summer culture is still being written one food truck at a time.
Where did the name “hot dog” come from?
The answer is still debated.
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, some claim that the name hot dog came from Tad Dorgan, a sports cartoonist for the New York Journal who drew a cartoon of a dachshund laying in a milk bun with the words “hot dog!” written above it. However this cartoon has never been found.
Another claim is that the word came from Yale when they were selling hot dogs out of “dog wagons” for students.
And lastly hot dog may have come from the fact that along with sausages, German immigrants also brought dachshund dogs into America and the name serves as a joke for the connection between the shape of the dogs and the shape of the sausage.
So, why are hot dogs a summer food? The answer isn’t just because they’re easy to throw on the grill. Their journey from German sausages to Coney Island stands, baseball stadiums, backyard barbecues, and local food trucks helped turn them into an American summer tradition.
And while the exact origin of the name “hot dog” may never be settled, one thing is certain: this iconic food has earned its place as one of summer’s most beloved staples. As Richard Kuplen sees every day from the window of his Long Island food truck, when the weather warms up, people come looking for hot dogs. More than a century after they first arrived in America, hot dogs continue to define the summer season and bring people together.