Why Is Ham Radio Called Ham Radio?
So, why is Amateur Radio called ham radio? It appears that the term originated with Telegraph Operators who referred to unskilled operators as "hams", presumably because they were considered "ham-fisted" (or "ham-handed"). When radio first became available to the general population many of the first radio ("wireless telegraph") operators were former telegraph operators and it became the norm for both amateurs and professionals to refer to amateur operators who accidentally interfered with other broadcasts as "hams" and eventually the term was adopted by the amateur radio community as the term for "amateur" radio.