In the early 1940s, the U.S. government needed a light utility vehicle that could be used in a variety of roles during World War II. The company that eventually became Jeep was one of several manufacturers that submitted prototype vehicles for testing. The Willys MB, which went into production in 1941, was the winning design.
The Jeep name is thought to have come from the slurred pronunciation of GP, which stands for General Purpose. Another theory is that it was an acronym for just about everything the little utility vehicle could do: Get Around; Go Anywhere; Do Anything.
Willys-Overland, the company that produced the Jeep, continued to use the Willys name on its civilian models after the war. In 1963, Chrysler Corporation bought Willys and dropped the Willys name from all Jeep models except for one: the CJ (Civilian Jeep), which retains its original moniker to this day.