Aviator sunglasses, or "pilot's glasses", were originally developed in 1936 by Ray-Ban for pilots to protect their eyes while flying. Aviators were given their name due to their original intention of protecting aviator's eyes. Ray-Ban began selling the glasses to the public a year after they were developed.

The Aviator became a well-known style of sunglasses when General Douglas MacArthur landed on the beach in the Philippines in WWII. Newspaper photographers snapped several pictures of him wearing them. The style was also issued to and found popularity with the Franch Army .

Aviator sunglasses became fashionable in the 1960s, but their popularity would increase following pop culture references by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Freddie Mercury and later use by celebrities in films like Top Gun, where Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Edwards sported them (sales of the brand rose 40% in the 7 months following the release of the film). Ray Ban aviators were also prominently featured in the films Cobra starring Sylvester Stallone and To Live and Die in L.A.,in which the two main characters are seen wearing them throughout the film. In the 1990s,  popularity waned but eventually resurfaced in the early 2000s when comedian daredevil Johnny Knoxville wore them on the MTV series Jackass.