Jaʽfar
Jafar, 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 and in Albanian Xhafer.
Historical persons
- Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, companion of Muhammad, older brother of Ali
- Jafar ibn Ali, son of Ali and Umm ul-Banin
- Ja'far al-Sadiq, descendant of Ali, sixth imam of Shia Islam
- Ja'far ibn Abdallah al-Mansur, was the elder son of caliph al-Mansur.
- Ja'far ibn Yahya, one of the Barmakids, vizier of Caliph Harun al-Rashid
- Abu Jaafar al-Mansur, 7th-century Abbasid caliph
- Ja'far al-Mutawakkil, the tenth Abbasid caliph
- Abu Ma'shar Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Balkhi, Persian scholar
- Mir Jafar, military commander who betrayed the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah
- Mir Jafar Dasni, a rebel, who rebelled against Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim
- Ja'far ibn Mansur al-Yaman, Ismaili theologian
- Ja'far ibn Fallah, Kutama Berber general of the Fatimids
- Ja'far ibn al-Furat, Ikhshidid and Fatimid vizier
- Jafar ibn Ali al-Hadi, 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, first Sharif of Mecca
- Ja'far al-Mufawwid, Abbasid prince and heir-apparent of Caliph al-Mu'tamid
- Ja'far al-Muqtadir, the eighteenth Abbasid caliph
- Jafar Tabrizi, 15th century master in calligraphy as well as a poet and scribe
- Ja'far ibn Sa'id, Sharif of Mecca
- Jafar Khan, King of Persia
Modern persons
Given name
Jafar
- Ja'afar Mahmud Adam, Nigerian Islamic scholar
- Jafar Alam, Bangladeshi politician and Member of Parliament
- Jafar Alizadeh, Iranian wrestler
- Jafar Arias, Curaçaoan footballer
- Jafar al-Askari, prime minister of Iraq
- Jafar Bazri,, Iranian footballer
- Jafar Bolhari, Iranian psychiatrist
- Jafar Ebrahimi, Iranian poet
- Jafar al-Hakim, Shiite Ayatollah in Najaf, Iraq
- Jafar Hidayatullah, Indonesian badminton player
- Jafar Iqbal, Bangladeshi footballer
- Jafar Irismetov, Uzbekistan footballer and coach
- Jafar Jabbarli, Azerbaijani playwright, poet, director and screenwriter
- Jafar Dhia Jafar, Iraqi nuclear physicist
- Jafar Khan Jamali, Indian politician, tribal chief and an All-India Muslim League veteran from Balochistan
- Jafar Kazemi, Iranian political prisoner sentenced to death and hanged for co-operation with the Iranian opposition group PMOI
- Jafar Mokhtarifar, Iranian footballer
- Jafar Panahi, Iranian filmmaker
- Jafar Salmasi, Iranian weightlifter
- Jafar Shafaghat, Iranian General officer in the Iranian Pahlavi Army
- Jafar Shahidi, scholar of Persian language and literature and historian of Islam
- Jafar Sharif-Emami, Prime minister of Iran
- Jafar Sobhani, Iranian Shia Marja
- Jafar Shojouni Iranian Shia cleric and politician who served a member of the Parliament of Iran
- Jafar Towfighi, Iranian engineer and politician
- Jafar Zafarani, Iranian mathematician
- Jafar Umar Thalib, Indonesian ulama and Islamic political figure
Jaafar
- Jaafar Abbas, Sudanese writer and journalist
- Jaafar Abdul Karim, German journalist and TV presenter
- Jaafar Abdul Aziz, Bruneian aristocrat, businessman and retired general
- Jaafar al-Sadr, Iraqi politician
- Jaafar Jaafar, Nigerian journalist
- Jaafar Jackson, American singer and actor
- Jaafar Mohammed Saad, Yemeni politician and soldier
- Jaafar Muhammad, Malaysian politician
- Jaafar Munroe, Trinidadian footballer
- Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, Kurdish politician
- Jaafar Shenaishil, Iraqi footballer
- Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Malaysian diplomat
Ja'far
- Ja'far Kashfi, Persian philosopher of 19th century
- Ja'far Modarres-Sadeghi, Iranian novelist and editor
- Ja'far Pishevari, Iranian politician
- Ja'afar Touqan, Palestinian-Jordanian architect
Jaffar
- Jaffar Idukki, Indian impressionist and actor in Malayalam film
- Jaffer Zaidi, Pakistani musician and lead vocalist of the Pakistani band Kaavish
Jaffer
- Jaffer Rahimtoola, Indian barrister
Cafer
- Cafer Çağatay, Turkish footballer
- Cafer Osman Topçı, Crimean Tatar officer in the Soviet Army
- Cafer Sadık Kutlay, Turkish businessman, civil engineer and politician
- Cafer Seydamet Qırımer, Crimean Tatar politician and writer
- Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish politician
- Cafer Tosun, Turkish footballer
- Džafer Kulenović, Yugoslav politician who led the Yugoslav Muslim Organization in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and was briefly government minister
Gaafar
Xhafer
- Xhafer Bej Ypi, Albanian politician
- Xhafer Deva, Kosovo Albanian politician
- Xhafer Spahiu, Albanian politician
Middle name
- Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Indian sitar player
- C. K. Jaffer Sharief or Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief, Indian politician
- Akif Jafar Hajiyev, Azerbaijani mathematician
- Mir Jafar Baghirov, Azerbaijani communist leader under the Soviet rule
- Mufti Jafar Hussain, Pakistani Shia mujtahid and political leader
- Ali Jaafar Mohamed Madan, Bahraini footballer
- Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, Iranian scholar of Islamic studies and a former diplomat
- Mohammad Jafar Mahjoub, Iranian scholar of Persian literature, essayist, translator and teacher
- Muhammad Jafar Moravej, Iranian Cleric
- Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Iranian cleric and judge and the current Attorney-General of Iran
- Mohammad Jafar Moradi, Iranian long distance runner
- Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan, Omani diplomat and academic
- Mustafa Jaffer Sabodo, Tanzanian economist, consultant and businessman
- Mohammad Jafar Yahaghi, Persian writer, literary critic, editor and translator
- Sayed Jaafar Ahmed, Bahraini footballer
- Syed Jaafar Albar, Malaysian politician
- Sayed Jafar Naderi, ethnic Hazara-Ismaili who controlled Baghlan Province of Afghanistan during the early 1990s
- Seyyed Jafar Kashfi, Iranian calligrapher
Surname or patronymic
Jafar- Adnan Jafar, Iraqi footballer
- Badr Jafar, Emirati business executive
- Habib Jafar, Iraqi footballer
- Izz al-Din Jafar, 14th-century Eretnid sultan
- Jafar Dhia Jafar, Iraqi nuclear physicist
- Mustapha Ben Jafar, Tunisian politician and doctor
- Syed Jafar, Indian-American electrical engineer and computer scientist
- Talha Jafar, Ethiopian-Argobba rebel and governor
- Abdul Aziz Jaafar, retired Malaysian admiral
- Azmun Jaafar, Indonesian civil servant and politician
- Ghazali Jaafar, Filipino militant and government official
- Hardi Jaafar, Malaysian footballer
- Isham Jaafar, Bruneian doctor
- Jalaluddin Jaafar, Malaysian footballer
- Jasim Mohammed Jaafar, Iraqi politician
- Jazeman Jaafar, Malaysian car racer
- Karrar Jaafar, Iraqi footballer
- Maha Jaafar, Emirati dentist and YouTuber
- Mariam Jaafar, Singaporean politician
- Megat Jaafar, Malaysian politician
- Mujtaba Sayed Jaafar, Qatari footballer
- Naceur Ben Jaâfar, Tunisian politician and labor activist
- Omar Jaafar, Malaysian politician
- Onn Jaafar, Malay politician and a Menteri Besar of Johor in Malaysia, then Malaya
- Raja Jaafar, Raja Muda of Perak Darul Ridzuan
- Suhaylah Abd-Jaafar, Iraqi lawyer and activist
- Tuanku Ja’afar, the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 26 April 1994 until 25 April 1999 and the tenth Yang Di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
- Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Malaysian politician, lawyer and retired policeman
- Kamarudin Jaffar, Malaysian politician
- Said Mohamed Jaffar, president of the State of Comoros
- Armaan Jaffer, Indian cricketer
- Jameel Jaffer, Canadian human rights and civil liberties attorney
- Melissa Jaffer, Australian actress
- Mobina Jaffer, Canadian Senator
- Rahim Jaffer, Canadian politician
- Sadaf Jaffer, American politician and scholar
- Sayed Mohammed Jaffer, Bahraini footballer
- Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer
- Vanja Džaferović, Croat-Bosnian footballer
- Ahmed Gaafar, Egyptian footballer
- Farouk Gaafar, Egyptian footballer
- Mostafa Gaafar, Egyptian footballer
Derived names
; Umm Ja'far- Zubaidah bint Ja'far, also known as Umm Ja'far was an Arab Abbasid princess, wife of caliph Harun al-Rashid and mother of caliph al-Amin
- Umm Ja'far Shuja, was the mother of Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil
- Shaghab, 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)|The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)]
- *Jafar (Aladdin), the main antagonist 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''