The term Black Friday originally referred to the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869.
However, in a shopping context, the name was used in Philadelphia in the 1950s. Philly police first used the term to describe the chaotic shopping day when they had to work long hours and weren't allowed to take the day off.
Philadelphia stores didn't like the term and tried to rebrand it as "Big Friday." Retailers tried a different form of rebranding in the 1980s, erroneously explaining that it was the day when businesses, previously operating at a loss throughout the year, got "back in black." Neither attempt at rewriting history caught on.
The name spread gradually. In the 80s, media coverage started to grow, and people nationwide began using the term more frequently. By the 90s, it increasingly became a household name for the day after Thanksgiving and kickoff to the holiday shopping season.