 While the two @-@ piece swimsuit as a design existed in classical antiquity , the modern design first attracted public notice in Paris on July 5 , 1946 . French mechanical engineer Louis Réard introduced a design he named the " bikini " , taking the name from the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean , which is Marshallese for coconut place . Four days earlier , the United States had initiated its first peace @-@ time nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads . Réard hoped his swimsuit 's revealing style would create an " explosive commercial and cultural reaction " similar to the explosion at Bikini Atoll . 
