The 411 - SPAM

“Spam” doesn’t actually stand for anything—it isn’t an acronym.

The word comes from SPAM, the canned meat product introduced by Hormel in 1937 (the name itself is a blend of spiced and ham). The modern meaning traces back to a famous Monty Python sketch from 1970, where the word “Spam” is repeated endlessly and drowns out all other conversation.

Early internet users adopted the term in the 1980s and 1990s to describe unwanted, repetitive messages that overwhelm forums, newsgroups, and later email—much like the sketch overwhelms dialogue. Over time, “spam” became the standard term for junk email, scam messages, and other unsolicited digital clutter.

So despite common myths like “Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages”, those are backronyms invented later for humour. The original term comes straight from canned meat and British comedy.

Source: Some or all of the content was generated using an AI language model