Jaʽfar (Arabic: جَعْفَر), meaning in Arabic "stream", is a masculine name of Arabic origin, common among Middle Eastern and Muslim men, especially in Iran.
It may also be written Jafar, Jaffar, Jafer, Jaafar, or in the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation, Gafar or Gaafar.
The Turkish transliteration of the name is Cafer, in Azerbaijani Cəfər, in Bosniak Džafer, in Kyrgyz Japar, in Kazakh Zhapar, and in Albanian Xhafer.
Contents
Historical persons
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (590–629), companion of Muhammad, older brother of Ali
Jafar ibn Ali (died 680), son of Ali and Umm ul-Banin
Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765), descendant of Ali, sixth imam of Shia Islam
Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur, (743–767) was the elder son of caliph al-Mansur.
Ja'far ibn Yahya (767–803), one of the Barmakids, vizier of Caliph Harun al-Rashid
Abu Jaafar al-Mansur, 7th-century Abbasid caliph
Ja'far al-Mutawakkil (822–861), the tenth Abbasid caliph
Abu Ma'shar Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Balkhi (787–886), Persian scholar
Mir Jafar (1691–1765), military commander who betrayed the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah
Mir Jafar Dasni (died 841), a rebel, who rebelled against Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim
Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman (fl. 10th century), Ismaili theologian
Ja'far ibn Fallah (died 971), Kutama Berber general of the Fatimids
Ja'far ibn al-Furat (921–1001), Ikhshidid and Fatimid vizier
Jafar ibn Ali al-Hadi (c.840–c.885), son of the tenth imam of Twelver Shia Islam, Ali al-Hadi, and a founder of the Ja'fariyya sect
Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Hasani (died 876/7), first Sharif of Mecca
Ja'far al-Mufawwid, Abbasid prince and heir-apparent of Caliph al-Mu'tamid
Ja'far al-Muqtadir (895–832), the eighteenth Abbasid caliph
Jafar Tabrizi (also known as Farīd al-Dīn and Qeblat al-Kottāb), 15th century master in calligraphy as well as a poet and scribe
Ja'far ibn Sa'id (died 1764/5), Sharif of Mecca
Jafar Khan (died 1789), King of Persia
Modern persons
Given name
Ja'afar Mahmud Adam (1960–2007), Nigerian Islamic scholar
Jafar Alam (born 1957), Bangladeshi politician and Member of Parliament
Jafar Alizadeh (born 1956), Iranian wrestler
Jafar Arias (born 1995), Curaçaoan footballer
Jafar al-Askari (1887–1936), prime minister of Iraq
Jafar Bazri, (born 1987), Iranian footballer
Jafar Bolhari (born 1948), Iranian psychiatrist
Jafar Ebrahimi, Iranian poet
Jafar al-Hakim (born 1965), Shiite Ayatollah in Najaf, Iraq
Jafar Hidayatullah (born 2003), Indonesian badminton player
Jafar Iqbal (born 1999), Bangladeshi footballer
Jafar Irismetov (born 1976), Uzbekistan footballer and coach
Jafar Jabbarli (1899–1934), Azerbaijani playwright, poet, director and screenwriter
Jafar Dhia Jafar (born 1943), Iraqi nuclear physicist
Jafar Khan Jamali (1911–1967), Indian politician, tribal chief and an All-India Muslim League veteran from Balochistan
Jafar Kazemi (1964–2011), Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death and hanged for co-operation with the Iranian opposition group PMOI
Middle name
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (1927–2017), Indian sitar player
C. K. Jaffer Sharief or Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief (1933–2018), Indian politician
Akif Jafar Hajiyev (1937–2015), Azerbaijani mathematician
Mir Jafar Baghirov (1896–1956), Azerbaijani communist leader under the Soviet rule
Mufti Jafar Hussain (1914–1983), Pakistani Shia mujtahid and political leader
Ali Jaafar Mohamed Madan (born 1995), Bahraini footballer
Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, Iranian scholar of Islamic studies and a former diplomat
Mohammad Jafar Mahjoub (1924–1996), Iranian scholar of Persian literature, essayist, translator and teacher
Muhammad Jafar Moravej (1910–1999), Iranian Cleric
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri (born 1949), Iranian cleric and judge and the current Attorney-General of Iran
Mohammad Jafar Moradi (born 1990), Iranian long distance runner
Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan (born 1950), Omani diplomat and academic
Mustafa Jaffer Sabodo (1942–2024), Tanzanian economist, consultant and businessman
Mohammad Jafar Yahaghi (born 1947), Persian writer, literary critic, editor and translator
Surname or patronymic
Jafar
Adnan Jafar (born 1949), Iraqi footballer
Badr Jafar (born 1979), Emirati business executive
Habib Jafar (born 1966), Iraqi footballer
Izz al-Din Jafar, 14th-century Eretnid sultan
Jafar Dhia Jafar (born 1943), Iraqi nuclear physicist
Mustapha Ben Jafar (born 1940), Tunisian politician and doctor
Syed Jafar, Indian-American electrical engineer and computer scientist
Talha Jafar (1853–1934), Ethiopian-Argobba rebel and governor
Jaafar
Abdul Aziz Jaafar (born 1956), retired Malaysian admiral
Azmun Jaafar (1958–2025), Indonesian civil servant and politician
Ghazali Jaafar (1944–2019), Filipino militant and government official
Hardi Jaafar (born 1979), Malaysian footballer
Isham Jaafar, Bruneian doctor
Jalaluddin Jaafar (born 1975), Malaysian footballer
Jasim Mohammed Jaafar, Iraqi politician
Jazeman Jaafar (born 1992), Malaysian car racer
Derived names
Umm Ja'far
Zubaidah bint Ja'far, (765/66–831) also known as Umm Ja'far was an Arab Abbasid princess, wife of caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) and mother of caliph al-Amin (r. 809–813)
Umm Ja'far Shuja, (died 861) was the mother of Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil
Shaghab (died 933), also known as Umm Ja'far, was the mother of 10th-century Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir
Fictional characters
Jaffar, a character in The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
Jafar (Aladdin), the main antagonist (inspired by the character in The Thief of Bagdad) in the 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin, its first sequel, The Return of Jafar, and its 2019 live-action remake
Jafar, one of the primary antagonists in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, based on the Aladdin character
Ja'far, the main protagonist in the musical Twisted, based on the Aladdin character
Jaffar, a character in Prince of Persia, inspired by the character in The Thief of Bagdad
Jaffar, a character in the video game Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Ja'far, a character in the manga Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Zafar, a character in the television show Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga inspired from the character of the grand vizir in Disney's Aladdin