If you’ve ever shopped for space-saving furniture in 2026, you’ve probably wondered why a wall bed is called a “Murphy bed” instead of something more descriptive like a “fold-down bed” or “wall bed.” The answer isn’t a marketing gimmick — it’s named after an actual person, William Lawrence Murphy, whose personal living situation (and, according to legend, a woman he wanted to impress) led to one of the most successful furniture inventions in American history.
The man behind the name: William Lawrence Murphy
William Lawrence Murphy was living in a modest one-room apartment in San Francisco around the turn of the 20th century. Like a lot of city dwellers today, his entire living space had to double as a bedroom, living room, and everything in between. The problem was that early 1900s social etiquette didn’t look kindly on a bachelor entertaining a woman in a room dominated by a bed — it simply wasn’t proper for an unmarried woman to be seen in what looked like a bedroom.
Murphy, as the story goes, was courting an opera singer named Anna Folger Murphy (they later married) and wanted a way to turn his cramped bedroom into a respectable parlor whenever she visited. His solution was deceptively simple: a bed that pivoted up and disappeared into a closet or cabinet, instantly transforming the room’s function. When the bed was folded away, the space looked and felt like a sitting room. When it came back down, it was a bedroom again.
From personal fix to patented invention
Murphy didn’t stop at solving his own space problem — he recognized he had something worth protecting and selling. He filed for and received patents on his pivot-bed design in the early 1900s (his first patents date to around 1900, with additional improvements patented over the following two decades). He founded the Murphy Wall Bed Company (later known as the Murphy Door Bed Company) to manufacture and sell these fold-away beds commercially.
The timing couldn’t have been better. Urban housing in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Chicago was getting smaller and more expensive, and the idea of a bed that vanished into the wall when not needed was hugely appealing to apartment dwellers who wanted their living space to work harder. The beds were marketed as a practical, almost aspirational upgrade — proof that clever engineering could make small-space living feel less cramped.
How the original mechanism actually worked
The earliest Murphy beds used a simple pivot-and-counterweight system. The bed frame was mounted on a hinge near the head of the bed, and a counterbalance (often springs or weights) made it possible for one person to lift a fully-made bed up into a wall cabinet or closet with relatively little effort, then swing it back down just as easily. Some early models even included a small closet compartment behind the bed for coats or linens, so the wall unit looked like an ordinary piece of cabinetry when closed.
Modern wall beds still use the same basic principle, though today’s versions typically rely on a piston-lift or spring-lift mechanism rather than raw counterweights, and many double as bookshelves, desks, or storage cabinets when folded up.
How “Murphy bed” became a generic term
Here’s the part of the story that surprises most people: “Murphy bed” started as a trademarked brand name, not a generic product category — similar to how “Kleenex” or “Band-Aid” began as specific brands. For decades, the Murphy Door Bed Company held exclusive rights to the name and pursued competitors who used the term “Murphy bed” to describe their own fold-away beds.
That changed in the late 1980s. In a well-known trademark case, a federal court ruled that “Murphy bed” had become generic through widespread public use — meaning so many people used the phrase to describe any fold-down wall bed (regardless of manufacturer) that it no longer functioned as a distinctive brand identifier. Under U.S. trademark law, a term can lose its protected status if it becomes the common name for an entire product category rather than one company’s specific product. That’s exactly what happened here, and it’s why today any company can legally sell a “Murphy bed” without licensing the name, much like any company can sell “escalators” or “thermoses.”
This genericization is actually a big part of why the name stuck so firmly in American vocabulary. Once the legal barrier came down, furniture retailers, home renovators, and small-space living blogs all adopted “Murphy bed” as the default term, cementing it in everyday language well beyond its original trademark meaning.
Murphy bed vs. other space-saving bed terms
Because the term has become so broad, people often use “Murphy bed” interchangeably with a few related but technically different products. Here’s how they actually compare:
| Term | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Murphy bed / wall bed | Folds vertically into a wall cabinet or closet | Studio apartments, home offices, guest rooms |
| Sofa bed | A sofa with a mattress that unfolds from inside the frame | Living rooms doubling as guest sleeping space |
| Trundle bed | A lower bed frame that rolls out from under a main bed | Kids’ rooms, sleepovers, shared bedrooms |
| Daybed | A sofa-style frame that functions as permanent seating and sleeping | Small bedrooms, dens, reading nooks |
| Futon | A frame that converts between sofa and flat bed positions | Budget-friendly dual-purpose rooms |
If you’re actively comparing these options for a small apartment or multi-use room, it’s worth browsing our sofa beds hub for convertible options that don’t require wall installation, since a true Murphy bed usually needs to be mounted or built into a wall unit rather than simply purchased as free-standing furniture.
Why the name still matters for shoppers today
Understanding the Murphy bed’s backstory isn’t just trivia — it actually helps when you’re shopping. Because the term is generic, “Murphy bed” on a listing doesn’t guarantee a specific brand, hardware quality, or installation method. Some are simple wall-mounted frames you install yourself; others come as full cabinet systems with built-in shelving, desks, or even matching wardrobes. When comparing options, pay attention to the lift mechanism (piston vs. spring), the maximum mattress thickness supported, and whether wall studs or an included cabinet frame are required for mounting.
If you’re weighing a wall bed against other convertible sleeping furniture, our daybed guide and trundle bed guide cover alternatives that need less structural installation, while our storage bed frames roundup is a good next stop if floor space is limited but you still want a standard, non-folding bed. For general sizing questions, our bed sizes and dimensions guide can help you figure out what mattress size will actually fit inside a wall bed cabinet.
The legacy of William Murphy’s invention
More than a century after William Murphy filed his first patent, the core idea remains essentially unchanged: a bed that disappears when you don’t need it, freeing up a room for other uses. What’s changed is the engineering — modern wall beds use safer, smoother lift mechanisms, integrate with modular shelving and desks, and are sold by dozens of manufacturers rather than a single company. But the name Murphy chose to solve his own small-apartment, courtship-etiquette problem back in San Francisco has outlived the original company, the original patents, and even the original trademark protection. It’s a rare case of an inventor’s name becoming permanently woven into everyday language, long after the legal reasons for using it disappeared.
For more on how we evaluate space-saving and convertible bed furniture, see our how we test page, or learn more about our editorial approach on the about page.
Related buying guides
- Sofa beds hub
- Best day beds
- Best trundle beds
- Bed frames with storage
- Platform bed frames
- Bed sizes and dimensions guide
- How we test
Who was the Murphy bed named after?
It’s named after William Lawrence Murphy, a San Francisco inventor who patented a fold-away pivot bed in the early 1900s and founded the Murphy Wall Bed Company to manufacture it.
Why did William Murphy invent the fold-away bed?
Legend has it he lived in a small one-room apartment and wanted a way to turn his bedroom into a proper parlor so he could entertain a woman he was courting, since etiquette of the time frowned on visiting an unmarried man’s bedroom.
Is Murphy bed still a trademarked name?
No. A federal court ruling in the late 1980s found that “Murphy bed” had become a generic term through widespread public use, meaning any manufacturer can legally use the name today.
What’s the difference between a Murphy bed and a wall bed?
They’re the same thing. “Wall bed” is the generic engineering term, while “Murphy bed” is the popular name that stuck after the original trademark lost its protected status.
Do Murphy beds need to be mounted to a wall?
Most designs need to be anchored to a wall or built into a cabinet frame for safety and stability, though some modern freestanding cabinet units don’t require direct wall mounting.
How is a Murphy bed different from a sofa bed?
A Murphy bed folds vertically into a wall or cabinet and doesn’t function as seating, while a sofa bed is upholstered seating with a mattress that unfolds from inside the frame.
Are Murphy beds still popular in 2026?
Yes, they’ve seen renewed popularity thanks to smaller urban apartments, home office conversions, and multi-use room trends, with many modern versions integrating shelving and desks.
Sophie Laurent
Sophie Laurent is TalkBeds' Beds & Bedroom Editor. With more than ten years covering home and furniture, she leads everything on the site that isn't the mattress itself: bed frames, platform beds, headboards, bunk and kids' beds, sizing, and the interiors decisions… Full profile & sources →