Where did the name Flea Market come from?
Whether Doughtery was merely parroting Parisian folklore or relating the actual etymology behind the French name, his use of “flea market” to describe the street market is the first known example of this term in English. The term didn’t begin popping up with any real frequency until the 1950s. At that time, it was usually used to refer to markets of this type in Paris, Spain and elsewhere in Europe. During the 1960s, however, it began to be applied more frequently to such gatherings in the United States.
