The name refers to the city of Munich, Germany (German: München), where the compound and its derivatives were first discovered and studied.

[1] The first preparation of a münchnone derivative was reported in 1959 by Lawson & Miles by cyclodehydration of 2-pyridone-N-acetic acid with acetic anhydride.

[2] The azomethine ylide reactivity of münchnones, and their reaction with alkynes in the synthesis of pyrroles, was first published by Huisgen et al.[3][4] The Huisgen group followed up with a thorough investigation of the chemical properties, reactivity, and utility of münchnones towards the synthesis of many other products.

[5][6] As such, they are typically credited for the discovery of the münchnone class of molecules.

Münchnones are typically used as 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition substrates in the synthesis of pyrroles by their in situ generation in the presence of alkynes.