The idea of an edible candy on a stick is very simple, and it is probable that the lollipop has been invented and reinvented numerous times.The word "lolly pop" dates to 1784, but initially referred to soft, rather than hard candy. The term may have derived from the term "lolly" (tongue) and "pop" (slap). The first references to thelollipop in its modern context date to the 1920s.Alternatively it may be a word of Romany origin being related to the Roma tradition of selling toffee apples sold on a stick. Red apple in the Romany language is loli phaba.
The first confectioneries that closely resemble what we call lollipops date to the Middle Ages, when the nobility would often eat boiled sugar with the aid of sticks or handles.The invention of the modern lollipop is still something of a mystery but a number of American companies in the early 20th century have laid claim to it. According to the book "Food For Thought (Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the World)" they were invented by George Smith of New Haven, Connecticut, who started making large boiled sweets mounted on sticks in 1908. He named them after a racehorse of the time, Lolly Pop.