Short answer
What the Jaguar logo symbol means
The leaping cat on the Jaguar logo is called the Leaper. It is a direct picture of the jaguar, the animal the company took its name from. Wikipedia credits the Autocar illustrator Frederick Gordon Crosby with creating the leaping cat mascot, which first appeared on Jaguar cars late in 1938. Jaguar has not published a deeper meaning for the pose beyond the obvious link to the animal's speed and grace.
Quick read
Jaguar logo at a glance
- Symbol
- The Leaper, a leaping jaguar
- Mascot first seen
- Late 1938
- Credited to
- Frederick Gordon Crosby, an illustrator for Autocar (Wikipedia)
- Name first used
- September 1935, as a model name on an SS saloon
- Company renamed Jaguar Cars
- 23 March 1945
- Other cat badge
- The snarling head known as the growler
Interactive logo decoder
The Jaguar Leaper and Wordmark
The head and forepaw
The cat's snarling head with open mouth and the front paw reaching forward sit at the left of the artwork. The outline treatment gives the animal an alert, aggressive look.
Highlighted on the logoThe leaping body
A long, stretched body and trailing tail make a single flowing line from nose to tail tip. The pose descends from the chrome Leaper bonnet mascot that first appeared on Jaguar cars late in 1938.
Highlighted on the logoThe JAGUAR wordmark
The name is set in wide, evenly spaced uppercase letters beneath the cat. The lettering is flat and uniform in weight, and its width echoes the long horizontal shape of the leaping figure.
Highlighted on the logo
Where the Jaguar name and logo came from
The business began as the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded in Blackpool in 1922 by the motorcycle enthusiasts William Lyons and William Walmsley. It became SS Cars in the early 1930s, and Jaguar first appeared in September 1935 as a model name on an SS sports saloon.
On 23 March 1945 SS Cars Limited was renamed Jaguar Cars Limited. Chairman William Lyons said the name was distinctive and could not be confused with any similar foreign name. The SS initials had also taken on unfortunate associations by then. Armstrong Siddeley allowed Lyons to use the name, which it had used on aircraft engines.
The Jaguar Leaper logo
The full leaping cat was traditionally a chrome-plated mascot forming part of the radiator cap. Frederick Gordon Crosby is credited by Wikipedia with creating it, and it first appeared on Jaguar cars late in 1938. The long, stretched body and trailing tail make a single flowing line from nose to tail, which is the shape that the printed logo has kept in simplified form.
The company has not explained the pose in detail. The usual reading, that it stands for speed and grace, is natural but is interpretation rather than a stated design brief. The sources used here do not give a source for Crosby's own thinking.
Jaguar logo history, wings first and then the cat
The cat did not come first. The earliest archived badge reads Swallow Sidecar Company on a round center between a pair of wings, and SS Cars used a stepped bronze wing badge with an SS monogram. After the 1945 renaming, a winged badge carried the JAGUAR name on a central panel. By 1951 the archive version drops the wings and shows a plain serif JAGUAR wordmark.
The second cat is the growler, a snarling jaguar head. The archive shows it on an orange field in a round 1957 badge. The Leaper moves into the printed logo in the 1982 archive version, above a green JAGUAR wordmark.
Why the Jaguar Leaper was banned in Europe and dropped
Wikipedia says the chrome Leaper was banned for safety reasons on cars supplied to Europe, while it continued on cars sold in the United States, the Middle East and the Far East. It has been dropped from the latest Jaguar models, although some customers add one as a customization.
The logo has kept evolving. The 2021 version is a flat dark outline Leaper above a wide charcoal wordmark, and Jaguar unveiled a new logo in November 2024 as part of its relaunch as an electric-only brand. The archive on this site does not cover that logo.
Logo archive
Jaguar logo versions through the years
1922 The winged Swallow badge 
1935 SS wings in bronze 
1957 The growler roundel 
1982 The Leaper over green 
2012 Chrome and gradients - 2021 Flat and screen-ready
Frequently asked questions
Jaguar logo symbol questions answered
Why does Jaguar have a leaping cat in its logo?
It is a picture of the jaguar, the animal the company is named after. The Leaper bonnet mascot first appeared late in 1938, and Jaguar suggests speed and grace without publishing a deeper meaning.
Who designed the Jaguar Leaper?
Wikipedia credits the illustrator Frederick Gordon Crosby, who worked for Autocar. No designer is credited for the flat 2021 logo or for the growler head badge.
What is the Jaguar growler?
The growler is the snarling jaguar head badge used alongside the Leaper. The archive shows it on a round 1957 badge on an orange field.
Why did Jaguar remove the Leaper from cars?
Wikipedia says it was banned for safety reasons on cars supplied to Europe and has been dropped from the latest models. It continued on cars sold in the United States, the Middle East and the Far East.
Why is the company called Jaguar?
Jaguar was first a model name on an SS saloon in 1935. When the company was renamed in 1945, William Lyons said it was distinctive and could not be confused with any similar foreign name.
Keep reading
More logo meanings
References
Sources for the Jaguar logo story
- Wikipedia — Jaguar Cars
- Wikipedia — Frederick Gordon Crosby
- Wikipedia — William Lyons
- Wikipedia — Swallow Sidecar Company
- Wikipedia — SS Cars
Jaguar logo and history. Logo images are an educational reference archive.