What Were Flip-Flops Originally Called? A Short History

Thong-style sandals are among the oldest footwear designs. The modern flip-flop has a long ancestry, and the names used for it have changed over time.

Ancient roots

Wikipedia says images of thong sandals appear in ancient Egyptian murals. Materials varied by region, including papyrus and palm leaves in Egypt, wood in India, rice straw in China and Japan, and sisal in South America.

Zori and the 20th century

The modern US flip-flop may have been based on the traditional Japanese zori brought home by soldiers after World War II. Wikipedia also says rubber flip-flops originated in Hawaii.

Havaianas

The Brazilian manufacturer Alpargatas created and patented Havaianas in 1962, inspired by the hybrid Hawaiian and Japanese zori sandals popular in Hawaii. The name comes from the feminine form of the Portuguese word for Hawaiians. Wikipedia notes that Havaianas were not the first mass-produced rubber flip-flops, which were made in Hawaii in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

Facts are from Wikipedia’s Flip-flops and Havaianas entries at the time of writing.

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