The Origin of the “My Name Is Jeff” Meme
The line “My name is Jeff” comes from a scene in 22 Jump Street in which actor Channing Tatum tries extremely hard to fake a foreign accent but fails terribly and hilariously. It’s a short scene, so it was perfect for inserting into Vine videos (which were a maximum of six seconds). You can watch the “My name is Jeff” scene on YouTube. Viners had a lot of fun dubbing the “My name is Jeff” quote over clips of themselves, music videos, and other movies. Users would typically insert the line into their own videos for random comedic effect. Unfortunately, Vine shut down on January 17th, 2017, so the platform where this meme first took off isn’t available anymore.
Where to Find the ‘My Name Is Jeff’ Meme
Because the Vine archives shut down, it’s no longer possible to see “My name is Jeff” memes in their original form. However, some of the most memorable Vines live on thanks to YouTube. If you search for “My name is Jeff,” you’ll come across a variety of videos, including parodies of the scene and “My name is Jeff” Vine meme compilations.
The Spread of the ‘My Name Is Jeff’ Meme
The movie 22 Jump Street was released in the summer of 2014, but the “My name is Jeff” meme only really picked up in popularity during the month of November. The meme first blew up on Vine, but it quickly made its way to other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, and Instagram. The “My name is Jeff” Facebook page once had over 84,000 likes, and an unaffiliated Twitter account had over 40,000 followers (both the Facebook page and Twitter account are no longer active).
