GOP stands for "Grand Old Party," which is a nickname for the Republican Party of the United States of America). The acronym dates back to the 1870s, around the same time the party picked up its elephant logo. The name "Republican" dates back to 1792 and the supporters of Thomas Jefferson. The party was originally known as the Democratic-Republican Party before divisions in the 1830s led to the formation of the stand-alone Republican Party in the 1850s. The Republican Party has been using the nickname GOP for almost 150 years.