# MASCOT ALERT: introducing "Jeff", the Jefferson Elm for Elm Lang 🌳

**URL:** <https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929>\
**Category:** Show and Tell\
**Created:** [October 12, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929 "2026-10-12T02:49:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JonathanMcCormickJr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/jonathanmccormickjr/32/5716_2.png) [@JonathanMcCormickJr](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/JonathanMcCormickJr)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/1 "2026-10-12T02:49:59Z")

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![jeff](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/uploads/elm_lang/original/2X/c/c4ffa3e98ba79abbced7c8120e56f00761253e95.svg)

**This is Jeff.🌳**

He is a mascot I made for the Elm community.💚💙🧡🩶

He is in the public domain.⛓️‍💥

Repo:

> **[jeff](https://codeberg.org/JonathanMcCormickJr/jeff)**
>
> Art for Jeff: the Jefferson Elm for the Elm Programming Language

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**Author:** ![Laurent](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/laurent/32/5725_2.png) [@Laurent](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/Laurent)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 9:06am UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/2 "2026-10-13T09:06:04Z")

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Hidden message in “T & M” ? 🤔

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**Author:** ![perkee](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/perkee/32/3187_2.png) [@perkee](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/perkee)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/3 "2026-10-13T13:19:46Z")

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Thomas and Martha Jefferson? Sure hope not.

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**Author:** ![JonathanMcCormickJr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/jonathanmccormickjr/32/5716_2.png) [@JonathanMcCormickJr](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/JonathanMcCormickJr)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/4 "2026-10-13T17:13:34Z")

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The lore for Jeff is documented in the Codeberg page: [JonathanMcCormickJr/jeff: Art for Jeff: the Jefferson Elm for the Elm Programming Language - Codeberg.org](https://codeberg.org/JonathanMcCormickJr/jeff)

“T&M” does indeed stand for Thomas and Martha Jefferson. Elm trees have historically lived lifespans well into the [3-figures](https://findanyanswer.com/what-is-the-lifespan-of-an-elm-tree). So it’s at least theoretically possible there’s a living elm tree that would have been alive at the time they were a couple. Dutch elm disease has admittedly made this less likely, unfortunately.

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**Author:** ![wolfadex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/wolfadex/32/2461_2.png) [@wolfadex](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/wolfadex)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/5 "2026-10-13T18:19:07Z")

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I do wonder about the inclusion of the Jeffersons. Elm is a global language and this would bind it more to the US.

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**Author:** ![JonathanMcCormickJr](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.elm-lang.org/jonathanmccormickjr/32/5716_2.png) [@JonathanMcCormickJr](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/u/JonathanMcCormickJr)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2026, 10:42pm UTC](https://discourse.elm-lang.org/t/mascot-alert-introducing-jeff-the-jefferson-elm-for-elm-lang/10929/6 "2026-10-13T22:42:04Z")

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That’s a fair concern. My approach with this was to fit Jeff’s lore to the most natural logical connections to him. In this case, it was something like:

`"Elm Lang" -> "Elm tree" -> "Ulmus americana 'Jefferson'" -> "Thomas & Martha Jefferson"`

Taking a step into hypothetical land, if we had a “Space Lang” with a rocket mascot showing the initials “YG” (or, better yet, “Ю. А. Гагарин”) for Soviet cosmonaut “Yuri Gagarin”, the lore logic might flow like this:

`"Space" -> "humans in space" -> "first human in space" -> "Yuri Gagarin"`

So this isn’t inherently a national/regional thing. It’s just what flowed most naturally (in my mind, at least). With that said, Thomas Jefferson did have an impact that extended far beyond the US. Despite his personal shortcomings in applying the principles he espoused, his writings have been influential in various human rights movements around the world, for example.