Where did the Jeep name come from?

There are many theories about the origins of the Jeep name, with two often-repeated stories having gained the most traction.

The most popular theory is that the original army 4x4 we're used to seeing John Wayne piloting through war zones bore the designation GP for 'General Purpose', and that over time the abbreviation became phonetically slurred into the word 'jeep'.

A second theory suggests that US soldiers were so impressed by the new vehicle's abilities that they named it after Eugene the Jeep, a dog-like character from the Popeye cartoons that could walk through walls, teleport between locations and dimensions and could "solve seemingly impossible problems."

Whatever its origins, 'jeep' entered popular use after it appeared in an article by columnist Katherine Hillyer. Hillyer was covering a photo opportunity arranged by Willys-Overland to demonstrate the vehicle's off-road capability by driving up the Capitol steps. When test driver Irving "Red" Hausmann was asked "what is this thing?" he replied "it's a jeep." Hillyer heard this and the article, published on February 20, 1941, included a picture of the vehicle with the caption:

“Lawmakers take a ride - With Senator Meade, of New York, at the wheel, and Representative Thomas, of New Jersey, sitting beside him, one of the Army's new scout cars, known as "jeeps" or "quads", climbs up the Capitol steps in a demonstration yesterday. Soldiers in the rear seat for gunners were unperturbed.”

In 1950, Willys-Overland was granted use of the name "Jeep" as a registered trademark and the rest is history.