where did "jeep" get it's name from?

Answer 1

The origin of the term "jeep"

There are many stories about where the name "jeep" came from. These, although they make for interesting and memorable stories, are not quite accurate.

Probably the most popular notion has it that the vehicle bore the designation "GP" (for "General Purpose"), which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. R. Lee Ermey, on his television series Mail Call, disputes this, saying that the vehicle was designed for specific duties, was never referred to as "General Purpose," and that the name may have been derived from Ford's nomenclature referring to the vehicle as GP (G for government-use, and P to designate its 80-inch-wheelbase). "General purpose" does appear in connection with the vehicle in the WW2 TM 9-803 manual, which describes the vehicle as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command, and designated as ¼-ton 4x4 Truck", and the vehicle is designated a "GP" in TM 9-2800, Standard Military Motor Vehicles, 1 September 1943, but whether the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with either of these manuals is open to debate.

This version of the story may be complicated by the name of another series of vehicles with the GP designation. The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, a maker of railroad locomotives, introduced its "General Purpose" line in 1949, using the GP tag. These locomotives are commonly referred to as Geeps, pronounced the same way as "Jeep".

Many, including Ermey, claim that the likelier origin refers to the character Eugene the Jeep in the Thimble Theater (Popeye) comic strip. Eugene the Jeep was dog-like and could walk through walls and ceilings, climb trees, fly, and just about go anywhere it wanted; it is thought that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicle's versatility that they informally named it after the character. The character "Eugene the Jeep" was created in 1936.

The term "jeep" was first commonly used during World War I (1914-1918) by soldiers as a slang word for new recruits and for new unproven vehicles. This is according to a history of the vehicle for an issue of the U.S. Army magazine, Quartermaster Review, which was written by Maj. E. P. Hogan. He went on to say that the slang word "jeep" had these definitions as late as the start of World War II.

"Jeep" had been used as the name of a small tractor made by Modine. The term "jeep" would eventually be used as slang to refer to an airplane, a tractor used for hauling heavy equipment, and an autogyro. When the first models of the jeep came to Camp Holabird for tests, the vehicle did not have a name yet. Therefore the soldiers on the test project called it a jeep. Civilian engineers and test drivers who were at the camp during this time were not aware of the military slang term. They most likely were familiar with the character Eugene the Jeep and thought that Eugene was the origin of the name. The vehicle had many other nicknames at this time such as Peep and Pygmy and Blitz-Buggy, although because of the Eugene association, Jeep stuck in people's minds better than any other term.

Answer 2

How The Jeep Got It's Name


Written by Al Carl

Where did the name come from? Not from the original designer and builder, the Bantam Car Company. It wasn't Willys, the famous manufacturer of the Willys MB, either. Ford didn't pick the name when it was making the GPW, and the U.S. Military never designated the term either. Truth be told, no one knows for sure just how the name "Jeep" came about, but the one common thread is that all of the theories relate to a sort of general population adoption of the term.

There are a number of theories on the origination of the name. There are reports that the term "Jeep" was used in Oklahoma in the 1930's to describe specialized trucks used in drilling for oil, and that was how the term was later used by those from the area in describing the Willys MB.

Others believe that the name came from a slang abbreviation of the term G.P., which was an acronym that stood for General Purpose vehicle. The trouble with this theory is that the term General Purpose was reportedly used to describe the US Army's quarter-ton reconnaissance vehicles, and not the Willys. Further, the Willys MB was designated for specific duties and was not referred to in Army circles as a General Purpose vehicle.

Along similar lines goes the theory that the name was a one-vowel slang word replacement for Ford's description of the vehicle (the Ford GPW now commonly referred to as the Willys GPW), which referred to it as GP. The G stood for government use and the P referred to its wheel base size of 80 inches. When Ford began making these vehicles some people may have found it difficult to call it a Willys since it was actually manufactured by Ford.

Another explanation of the name has it that it was based on a character from the Popeye comic strip in the 1930's that was known as Eugene the Jeep. This little guy was from another dimension and was blessed with the ability to go anywhere and do anything. He went through walls, scaled huge trees, flew, disappeared, etc. There wasn't anywhere Eugene the Jeep couldn't go. The theory goes that US soldiers were so impressed by the Willys go-anywhere performance that they began calling it Jeep after the character.

We'll probably never know the answer to how the name Jeep began, but maybe that's a good thing as it adds to the mystical allure of this American icon.

You can still find replacement parts for the Willys MB and the Ford GPW at many places. One of these can be found at http://www.xtremeterrain.com


Al Carl is a resident of Kentucky and a long time Jeep enthusiast. He handles internet service for one of the leading jeep parts retailers, XtremeTerrain.com. They can be found at http://www.xtremeterrain.com.

Answer 3

Jeep originally was known as GP(General Purpose) from its military beginning from Willy's. Later people started calling it a Jeep sounds and pronounced the same as the earlier GP vehicle.

Jeep began under the Willy's name, which was later bought out by Kaiser, and then later bought out by Diamler Chrysler and brings the jeep to its present day styling.

Answer 4

Jeep was introduced as GP (stands for General Purpose) which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. "General purpose" does appear in connection with the vehicle in the WW2 TM 9-803 manual, which describes the vehicle as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command, and designated as ¼-ton 4x4 Truck", and the vehicle is designated a "GP" in TM 9-2800, Standard Military Motor Vehicles, 1 September 1943, but whether the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with either of these manuals is open to debate.

Answer 5

The name Jeep is derived from the abbreviation for the vehicle that inspired its current generation of vehicles. The General Purpose Vehicle, also known as the GP, was ordered by the US military as a means to move troops and armaments. The ruggedness and versitility of the GP made it so popular with the troops that when they returned from the war, they all wanted their own Jeep's (GPs)

Answer 6

"From Eugene the Jeep 'Eugene the Jeep,' a strange creature that appeared in E.C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theater, best known for its character Popeye, the Sailor."

Answer 7

Probably from europe because everybody there calls SUV's jeeps

Answer 8

vietgirl was the only one thats right hes a little yellow creature that would show up anywhere and can do almost anything u no jeep go anywhere do anything

Answer 9

"G" prefixes stood for "Government" and "P" means "80 inch wheelbase reconnaissance car"

Answer 10

froma "jeep"