因為老式的收音機上有一種開關，多個按鍵排在一起，但每次只能按下一個，換句話說，按下任意一個鍵，其他按鍵全部彈起，所以GUI的單選按鍵也就被形象地稱作收音機按鍵。
老式的彩電上也能看到這種開關。頻道調整好之後，再次觀看時只需按下相應的按鍵，無需再調整。

Radio buttons were named after the physical buttons used on older radios to select preset stations[1][2] – when one of the buttons was pressed, other buttons would pop out, leaving the pressed button the only button in the “pushed in” position.[cita