Many fast food restaurants utilize mascots in the logos, but most of those aren't based on real people. Wendy's is different.

Wendy was actually born Melinda Lou Thomas, but according to the New York Times, her siblings had difficulty pronouncing her name and called her “Wenda.” Thus, the nickname Wendy was born.

Dave Thomas founded the first Wendy’s in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, named after his daughter Melinda Lou, who was nicknamed Wendy. He started with a simple menu: square hamburgers, fries ...