Monkey bread is called that likely because of the way it is eaten: it is a finger food where people pull apart and pick pieces of the sticky, sweet dough with their hands, similar to how monkeys might pick at things. Another theory is that the bread's appearance resembles the monkey puzzle tree, but the most common explanation is related to the finger-picking eating style. The name's origin is somewhat unclear, but these theories are the main ones cited by food historians and sources. Monkey bread actually has roots in a Hungarian dessert called arany galuska, which immigrants brought to the U.S., and over time it became popularly known as monkey bread especially in America from around the mid-20th century onward.
