In addition to the above views, there is a view that oyakata (stablemaster) was replaced with "chan (father)" and deshi (pupil) with "ko (child)" based on the relationships between oyakata and deshi, and then dishes eaten by oyakata and deshi together were called "chanko."
これとは別に、親方と弟子の関係から親方を「父（ちゃん）」弟子を「子（こ）」と置き換え、師弟共に食べるものを「ちゃんこ」と呼ぶようになった説もある。