There are various theories as to the origin of the name "jeep", but the most likely one is related to the fact that this is what American military mechanics used to call every new test vehicle in the 1930s, and it was used to refer to vehicles as early as World War I.. The popularization of the name in relation to the new off-road vehicles was contributed to by a press show in early 1941, during which the Willys prototype, described in newspapers as "Jeep", climbed the steps of the Capitol