WHY ARE JEANS CALLED “JEAN'S”?
Jeans are one of the most common and comfortable clothes we wear today. But have you ever wondered how they got their name? The story of jeans is actually very interesting and begins in Europe many centuries ago.
The Origin of the Name
The word “jeans” comes from the name of a place — Genoa, a city in Italy. Long ago, around the 1500s, the sailors in Genoa needed strong clothes that would not tear easily. They wore trousers made from a tough cotton fabric.
The French, who traded with these sailors, called the people from Genoa “Gênes” (pronounced like jeans). Slowly, this name began to be used for the trousers made from that fabric.
How Jeans Became Popular
Even though the name came from Italy, jeans became world-famous in the United States. In the 1800s, a man named Levi Strauss made strong trousers for workers during the Gold Rush. These trousers were made from another strong fabric called denim.
Did you know?
The word denim also comes from French — “de Nîmes”, meaning from the city of Nîmes.
Jeans Today
From sailors to workers to students, jeans have become a part of everyone’s wardrobe. They are comfortable, stylish, and available in many designs and colours.
In Short
The name jeans comes from Genoa (Gênes) in Italy.
Denim, the fabric used for jeans, came from Nîmes in France.
Jeans became popular because they were strong and long-lasting.
