What Is the Jeep Logo?
The Jeep logo is a wordmark: the name Jeep, a word in use for the wartime vehicle years before any company owned it. Jeep is the American off-road vehicle brand that grew out of the US Army jeep of the Second World War, sold to civilians since 1945 and owned by Stellantis.
Beside the wordmark, Jeep's other signature is the seven-slot grille, which has fronted its civilian models since 1945. The wordmark is available as the Jeep logo SVG.
Jeep Logo Facts
| Introduced | "Jeep" trademark applied for in 1943 and registered in June 1950 |
| Symbol | The name Jeep; the seven-slot grille as a second brand signature |
| Logo type | Wordmark |
| Owner | Stellantis |
What the Jeep Logo Means
The logo is simply the name. Nobody has proved where the word "jeep" comes from. The most common theory is that the Army's "GP" designation was slurred into "jeep"; Joe Frazer, president of Willys-Overland from 1939 to 1944, claimed to have coined it that way. A rival account says soldiers named the vehicle after Eugene the Jeep, a creature in E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre comic strip. "Jeep" was also US Army slang for raw recruits and untested vehicles as early as the First World War.
Because the name was already famous when Willys put it on civilian vehicles, the wordmark needed no symbol to explain it. The seven-slot grille does the visual work instead: the military jeep had nine slots, and the civilian version dropped to seven, a shape Jeep has kept as its face.
Jeep Logo History
In February 1941 Willys showed off its prototype by driving it up the steps of the US Capitol, and test driver Irving "Red" Hausmann told a reporter "It's a jeep." During the war, Willys and Ford both built the vehicle, and each stamped its own name into the bodywork until the US government objected in 1942.
Willys-Overland applied for the Jeep trademark in February 1943 and launched its first civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A, in 1945, with the seven-slot grille. As the only company that kept building Jeep vehicles after the war, it was granted "Jeep" as a registered trademark in June 1950. King Features Syndicate had held a trademark on the name for its comics since August 1936.
The name then passed between owners: Kaiser in 1953, American Motors in 1970, Chrysler in 1987, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and Stellantis in 2021. Since 1998 every Jeep model has carried the seven-slot grille as a common brand signature.
Jeep and Ford
Ford built wartime jeeps under its GPW designation, and its stamped steel grille with nine vertical slots was lighter and easier to make than the earlier welded design. A popular story says Willys cut the slots to seven because the nine-slot design was Ford's. Stellantis gives a plainer reason: civilian Jeeps needed larger headlights, which left no room for the outer slots (compare the Ford logo). The idea that the seven slots stand for the seven continents has no historical record behind it.
For more brands like Jeep, browse our car logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Jeep grille have seven slots?
Civilian Jeeps needed larger headlights than the nine-slot military version, so Willys removed the two outer slots on the CJ-2A in 1945.
When was Jeep trademarked?
Willys-Overland applied in February 1943 and was granted the Jeep trademark in June 1950.
Where does the name Jeep come from?
Nobody knows for sure. The main theories are the Army's "GP" designation and the comic-strip character Eugene the Jeep.
Who owns the Jeep brand?
Stellantis, since 2021. Earlier owners were Willys-Overland, Kaiser, American Motors, Chrysler and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.