ðə pˈɑːpjʊlɚ nˈeɪm kˈʌmz fɹʌmðə lˈeɪaʊt ʌvðɪ ˈɛɹpoːɹts ɹˈʌnweɪ sˈɪstəm, wˌɪtʃ wʌzɐ sˈɪŋɡəl pˈiːs ʌv ˈæsfɔlt mˈoʊstli ɪnðə ʃˈeɪp əvən ˈaʊɚɡlˌæs θɹˈiː ˌoʊvɚlˈæpɪŋ ɹˈʌnweɪz wˌɪtʃ stˈɑːɹɾᵻd kənstɹˈʌkʃən ɪn lˈeɪt nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi wˈʌn ænd kəmplˈiːɾᵻd fˈɛbɹuːˌɛɹi wˈʌn, nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi tˈuː.
The popular name comes from the layout of the airport's runway system, which was a single piece of asphalt mostly in the shape of an hourglass (3 overlapping runways) which started construction in late 1941 and completed February 1, 1942.