Jaʽfar (Arabic: جَعْفَر), meaning in Arabic ”stream/rivulet/creek", is a masculine name of Arabic origin, common among Muslims especially in Iran.^[1]

It may also be transliterated Jafar, Jaffar, Jafer, Jaffer, Jafur, or, in Egyptian Arabic pronunciation, Gafar or Gaafar.

The Turkish spelling of the name is Cafer, the Azerbaijani Cəfər, the Bosniak Džafer and the Albanian Xhafer.

• Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (died 629), companion of Muhammad, older brother of Ali
• Jafar ibn Ali, 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
• Ja'far al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), 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,anda 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

Umm Ja'far

• Zubaidah bint Ja'far, (died 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

• 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^[2]
• 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

• Khawlah bint Ja'far, one of the wives of the fourth Muslim Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Zubaidah bint Ja`far, granddaughter of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur, through his son Ja'far, a wife of Harun al-Rashid
• Jifar (name), Ethiopian variant of the name
• Jaffa