Mardi Gras Baby Names: Rex, Nola, Giacomo

Mardi Gras baby names celebrate the city of New Orleans’ eclectic roots and irrepressible spirit.

There’s something about the Louisiana city. Credit Anne Rice or zydeco, jambalaya or dozens of movies and television series. It’s nowhere near as big as Paris or Los Angeles, but New Orleans competes with the most storied cities on Earth in our imaginations.

Mardi Gras means “fat Tuesday” – it’s the day before Ash Wednesday, one last day of excess before a season of repentance for many Christians.

But in New Orleans, it’s an entire season.

It begins on January 6th – the Feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. Epiphany falls twelve days after Christmas. Tradition holds that that the Three Wise Men visited the newborn Jesus on January 6th.

The exact date of Ash Wednesday moves around – quite a bit! – and so the season can be longer or shorter. It’s marked by parades, hosted by krewes – local civic organizations. They parade, and some also support charitable endeavors and grant scholarships, too.

Visit New Orleans any time of year, and the Mardi Gras spirit is alive. Whether it’s the colors – purple, gold, and green – or symbols like beads and other give-aways, the season dominates our ideas about the city all the time.

Of course, Mardi Gras isn’t unique to New Orleans. Plenty of places celebrate the carnival season. But few cities are so closed associated with the traditions and customs.

The Krewe of Rex brings the whole thing to a conclusion, on Tuesday afternoon.

And so let’s look at Mardi Gras baby names that celebrate this unique and vibrant city.

MARDI GRAS BABY NAMES: GIRLS

ACADIA

You know them better as the Cajuns, but back in the 1700s, they were Catholics who left France to settle in Canada. The British told them to convert – and swear allegiance to Britain – or else. Many of the Acadians headed south to New Orleans. The term Acadiana is often used to describe all of Francophone Louisiana. It’s rare as a given name, but fits right in with Olivia and Sophia.

BLUE

We associate Mardi Gras – and all of New Orleans – with green, purple, and gold. But Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” talks about how he “drifted down to New Orleans.” There’s also “Blue Bayou,” a Roy Orbison song that became a signature favorite for Linda Ronstadt. It doesn’t mention the city expressly, but the place name is used around Louisiana. And so this color feels like it pushes the color onto the list of Mardi Gras baby names.

BOHEME

The Krewe Bohème is one of the earliest parades to take place every year. Members are inspired by all things artistic and bohemian, and instead of a traditional King and Queen, they’re led by a Green Fairy.

CALLIOPE

A calliope is a steam-powered pipe organ associated with river boats. They can still be heard in the Crescent City. There’s also a Calliope Street in Uptown. More on that under Clio.

CARONDELET

Looking for something elaborate and unusual, maybe as a Mardi Gras-inspired middle? The surname of a former Louisiana governor was the name of a canal and continues as the name of a street. Pronounce it the French way, cahr on de lay. Or maybe not.

CHLOE

Back before anyone had heard of grunge, Seattle’s Mother Love Bone recorded “Chloe Dancer,” about a waitress in the French Quarter.

CLAUDIA

Naming your kiddo Lestat would be over-the-top, but Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire also gave us Claudia. It’s a classic name that’s been overlooked in recent generations.

CLEOPATRA

Famous as the name of a legendary Egyptian queen, Cleopatra makes the list because it’s the name of a krewe – one of the organizations that parades during the Mardi Gras season.

CLIO

In Greek mythology, nine minor goddesses were responsible for creativity and inspiration. Each and every one of them has a street named in their honor, including the very wearable Clio, Calliope, and Thalia, as well as their slightly less accessible sisters: Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, and Urania. Collectively, the nine goddesses are referred to as the Muses, a name often used for Uptown New Orleans destinations near the streets today.

CRESCENT

One of New Orleans’ many nicknames? The Crescent City, so called because of the bend in the Mississippi River. This is no novel marketing campaign name, either – it was recorded as far back as 1835. While Crescent seems like an unusual choice as a given name – and it would be, indeed – Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series used it for a character.

DELPHINE

A lovely French import with plenty of potential, Delphine feels like an undiscovered gem ready for the spotlight. And it dose have deep ties to New Orleans. The only problem? The best known Delphine was a truly repugnant serial killer. And yet, plenty of other Delphines can be found in Louisiana. Like Amenaide and Clemence, it sounds like a New Orleans name.

EVANGELINE

Longfellow’s tragic poem of the Acadian expulsion is titled Evangeline. It’s also the name of a Louisiana parish.

FLEUR

It’s the French word for flower, boosted by the Harry Potter heroine, Fleur Delacroix. The New Orleans connection comes from the fleur-de-lis, a stylized lily, a symbol associated with the city. Lily (or Lilly or Lillie) might be options, too.

IRIS

Elegant Iris is another krewe, the oldest one composed entirely of women. They took their name from the Greek goddess of the rainbow.

LOUISIANA

State names have a long history of use as firsts, from Georgia to Montana. While Louisiana is seldom heard, it has potential – especially thanks to nicknames like Lulu and Lucy.

MARIGNY

The name of a New Orleans neighborhood, it’s borrowed from Bernard de Marigny, a prominent nineteenth century landowner. One of his claims to fame? He funded the very first Mardi Gras celebration, way back in 1833. The “g” is silent. It sounds like MAR-uh-nee.  

MARIE

Legendary New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau lends this classic name some extra style.

NOLA

Nola comes from New Orleans, LA, the abbreviation for the city. Another bonus? Magnolia is the state flower of Louisiana, and a possible formal name for Nola.

ROWAN

This names come from Anne Rice’s other New Orleans-based series, The Mayfair Witches. Rowan’s entire fictional family tree is chock full of great names.

STELLA

Few movie scenes can top Marlon Brando screaming “Stella!” in the 1951 big screen adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. It’s one of the best movies set in New Orleans, ever – even 70 years and counting after it was made.

STORY

Maybe this is a stretch. But way back when, Storyville was the red light district in New Orleans. Originally intended to contain prostitution in a manageable area, it eventually became a center for jazz in the city. Nearly a century after much of the neighborhood was demolished, there’s a certain romance to the name.

TUESDAY

Mardi Gras refers to Tuesday. Model-turned-actor Tuesday Weld became a household name in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. She makes Tuesday seem a little more approachabe.

MARDI GRAS BABY NAMES: BOYS

BAYOU

Bayou Street is New Orleans’ oldest road. But the bayou isn’t urban – it’s a marsh or swamp. (If you’ve seen Disney’s Princess and the Frog, you’ve got the general idea.) With names like River and Kai on the rise for our sons, why not Bayou, too?

BRENNAN

New Orleans is known for its many world-famous restaurants. Not only are there several restaurants named Brennan’s – and have been for decades – one of them is said to be the home of bananas foster.

CHARLES

St. Charles Avenue and its streetcar line is as iconic as it gets. And while Charles seems pretty buttoned up, this street is one of the main Mardi Gras parade routes.

CREW

Strictly speaking, they’re krewes, with a K and an extra ‘e’ at the end. But rising favorite boy name Crew could be a nod to the New Orleans tradition.

EMERIL

Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse is one of the city’s most famous sons. Except he’s actually from Massachusetts. No matter. Emeril started his career in the city, under the tutelage of Paul Brennan, Sr. at Commander’s Palace – one of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants. He’s known for bringing Creole-inspired cuisine to the wider world.

GIACOMO

An Italian form of James, Giacomo makes this list of Mardi Gras baby names thanks to “Iko, Iko.” The Mardi Gras anthem was originally titled “Jock-A-Mo.” Yup, Jock-A-Mo. Which is how it appears in the lyrics. Not Giacomo. But still, it’s probably far more name-like as Giacomo.

JACKSON

If you’ve seen pictures of the Crescent City, you’ve almost certainly seen Jackson Square. Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, led troops to victory in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. A statue of Jackson stands in his honor. Now located in the heart of the French Quarter, with St. Louis Cathedral in the background, it’s one of the most famous images of the city.

JULIAN

Another name borrowed from Anne Rice’s family of witches.

KING

There are kings of carnival, and King Cakes are a traditional dessert served during the celebrations.

LANDRY

The name of three French medieval saints – you might seen them referred to as Landericus – St. Landry Parish isn’t far from New Orleans.

LOUIS

As in the cathedral, the square, and New Orleans native Louis Armstrong. The name is such a classic choice that it doesn’t immediately suggest the musician. But given Armstrong’s indelible mark on jazz and the New Orleans sound, this name seems like an obvious possibility.

NEVILLE

We think Hogwarts, but the musical Neville Brothers – and plenty of other famous Neville family members – are part of the city’s rich musical tradition.

PALMER

Another famous New Orleans landmark, Palmer Park is where the St. Charles streetcar line ends.

REMY

1986’s The Big Easy was a romantic thriller, set in New Orleans, and rich with the city’s story. It might be one of the first places the name Remy was heard. Dennis Quaid played a police detective named Remy McSwain; in the following years, the name started to rise modestly in use for boys and girls alike.

REX

The Krewe of Rex is arguably the most established of the Mardi Gras Krewes. It’s their parade that caps off the festivities on Mardi Gras itself. Rex is Latin for king, and the King of Rex rules the celebration.

ROYAL

Another famous New Orleans street, and a regal choice for a son.

TENNESSEE

It suggests another Southern state, but Tennessee Williams penned the ever-so-famous Streetcar Named Desire, set in New Orleans.

TOULOUSE

A city in the south of France, the name Toulouse was first recorded in the second century BC, and has remained little changed since then. French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec makes it feel a little more name-like. But it fits with Mardi Gras baby names thanks to New Orleans’ Toulouse Street, running through the French Quarter.

WALKER

Walker sounds like the name of a Southern gentleman. Author Walker Percy was born in Alabama, but set many of his most famous novels in New Orleans.

THE KREWE OF REX

Many Krewes parade to make Mardi Gras happen, up to the big day. But it’s Rex that serves as King of Carnival. The organization has proclaimed kings, queens, and maids since its 1872 founding. Their names are gloriously vintage, deeply Southern finds. This list includes names through the Court of 1929.

They’re a possible source of Mardi Gras baby names inspiration, too!

QUEENS and MAIDS

Several names repeat frequently. Louise is one. Variations of Anne and Mary/Marie, too. The classics you’d expect are well-represented, along with many more surprising gems.

• Alba, 1905
• Alma, 1914, 1917
• Adina, 1904
• Amelie, 1898, 1923
• Amoret, 1879
• Anais, 1907
• Aphra, 1910
• Arthemise, 1896
• Belle, 1884
• Bethea, 1921
• Calla, 1904, 1926
• Cecile, 1914
• Celeste, 1885, 1924
• Clarice, 1888
• Clemence, 1903
• Delphine, 1911
• Eugenie, 1925
• Felicie, 1887
• Flores, 1914
• Genevieve, 1888, 1889
• Heloise, 1909
• Inez, 1915, 1916
• Joel, 1909
• Leda, 1927
• Leonie, 1877
• Lulu, 1881, 1883
• Mamie, 1882
• Marguerite, 1917, 1923, 1925
• Maridel, 1929
• Maud, 1923, 1928
• Maude, 1908
• May, 1896, 1897, 1901, 1902, 1911
• Nellie, 1885
• Noel, 1896, 1898
• Odessa, 1899
• Odile, 1903, 1906
• Perrine, 1899, 1925
• Regina, 1917
• Rita, 1922
• Rosalie, 1900
• Sallie, 1908
• Sidonie, 1911
• Temmie, 1886

KINGS, DUKES, and PAGES

There are fewer men’s names listed, for many reasons. First, several are recorded as “J.B. Smith” rather than their given names. Second, a great many answer to the most traditional names, like John, that repeat frequently. Still others are mysteries. Were Lieutenant, General, and Captain given names – which appears to be the case – or simply titles used instead?

• Alden, 1911, 1923
• Amade, 1881
• Ambrose, 1880
• Arsene, 1894
• Ashton, 1906
• Aubrey, 1906
• August, 1887
• Augustin, 1897
• Bennett, 1929
• Beverly, 1917
• Blake, 1896
• Burris, 1886
• Catesby, 1898
• Cecil, 1921
• Chaille, 1890
• Chauncey, 1903
• Davis, 1907
• Eli, 1927
• Elwood, 1923
• Ellis, 1916
• Emile, 1882
• Felix, 1899
• Fergus, 1897
• Franz, 1916
• Gustaf, 1906
• Gustave, 1924
• Guy, 1896
• Hawes, 1892
• Hennen, 1905
• Homer, 1926
• Isaac, 1914
• Ivy, 1902
• Juan, 1921
• Jules, 1883, 1889, 1892, 1914
• Lucien, 1917
• Macreary, 1917
• Michel, 1915
• Miles, 1922
• Kemper, 1914
• Percy, 1898
• Pierce, 1921, 1927
• Porter, 1899
• Raoul, 1893
• Stirling, 1901, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912
• Sylvester, 1890
• Walker, 1905
• Willis, 1923

What do you think of Mardi Gras baby names? What would you add to this list? 

First published on February 8, 2013, this post was revised substantially and re-published on February 11, 2021; February 18, 2023; and September 7, 2023.