Why Are They Called 'Jeeps' And What Does The Name Stand For?

While the Jeep wasn't the first "4x4" ever made, it certainly epitomizes running roughshod over mountainous terrains and, for many, has become the iconic representation of the 4x4 class as a whole. The lowercase use of the word "jeep" has historically been used to broadly define any number of small, compact off-road vehicles made by the likes of Bantam, Willys, or Ford up to World War II, and is still used today as an across-the-board generic term. On the other hand, the uppercase version ("Jeep") typically refers to those trademarked vehicles made later. In fact, the "Jeep" name wasn't officially trademarked (by Willys-Overland) until 1950.

But where did the term come from, and why are they called "jeeps" in the first place? To answer that, we must jump back to June 1940, when the United States Army solicited bids from 135 automakers asking for a small, general-purpose "light reconnaissance" 4x4 vehicle. that was cheap to repair but robust enough to carry a light machine gun.

Bantam turned in their Reconnaissance Car (BRC) prototype first. Two stories exist as to what happened next. The first says representatives from Willys and Ford were present when the Bantam prototype was first delivered to Camp Holabird. The second claims full access to the BRC (including blueprints and engineering data) was given to both companies so they could replicate their own versions. Whatever the case, Willys provided a prototype called the Quad (for the 4x4 system it used) and Ford the Model GP prototype – which didn't actually stand for "General Purpose," as many might believe.

The "G" stood for a government contract vehicle, while the "P" signified that it simply had an 80-inch wheelbase. Ford would later add a "W" (for Willys) to the end of the GP designation (GPW) when they produced the final version. All three of these flat-fendered prototypes (here's everything you need to know about these Willy flatties) would collectively become known as the generic term "jeep."

Clear as mud, right? Well, it's not going to get much better. Ironically, the term "jeep" was already part and parcel of the English language long before these vehicles appeared in the 1940s. First, it was a term used by the military dating all the way back to World War I (1914 – 1918) to describe something that had yet to prove itself — whether it was a new soldier or a new vehicle. Think of it as yesteryear's word for rookie, newbie, or some other term for a newcomer.

In January 1929, cartoonist and writer Elzie Crisler (E.C.) Segar penned an issue of his long-running King Features comic strip, "Thimble Theatre," which for the first time featured a background character with bulging forearms named Popeye the Sailor. Seven years later (March of 1936), Segar introduces a mysterious and magical character to the strip in the form of Olive Oyl's pet (given to her by her Uncle Ben) named Eugene the Jeep. The term "jeep" then generally comes to mean something extraordinary.

Prior to the jeep vehicles' introduction to the battlefield, a publicity stunt was held in February 1941 where a Willys Quad quite literally drove up the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The driver (Irving "Red" Housman) was asked by the throngs of assembled media members, "What is that thing?" and he answered, "It's a jeep." The next day, the pictures of the event, along with Housman's answer, made front page news in virtually every American newspaper.

As one might imagine, what happens next is the true definition of "going viral." You had thousands of veterans fighting in their second world war who knew the word "jeep" from their first go around in the military. You had an America made up of civilians who knew Eugene the Jeep from the now legendary Popeye comics. Now you had these general-purpose, light reconnaissance GP ("jeep") vehicles making their way to the front lines in Europe. The name stuck.

Throughout WWII, Willys produced some 363,000 of these general-purpose "light reconnaissance" vehicles, and Ford another 280,000, and by all accounts, became as near and dear to the soldiers as their own buddies. The first civilian Jeep vehicle sold to the public was the CJ-2A (a civilian version of the Willys MB, the ultimate off-road machine), which was marketed as "The All-Around Farm Work-Horse." And the rest, as they say ... is history.