Louisiana City Names: Origins & Meanings

You may know that Louisiana was named for French King Louis XIV. The territory was named in his honor by French explorer La Salle, who claimed the territory to the west of the Mississippi River in the 1680s for France. The huge land tract—the Louisiana Purchase—would later form all or parts of 15 states and two Canadian provinces.But the cities and towns inside Louisiana have some interesting stories behind their names as well.French Names for Louisiana Cities and TownsNew Orleans was founded in 1718 asNouvelle-Orléansby the French explorer Bienville. He named the city in honor of another French official, then Prince Regent of France Philip II, Duke of Orleans.Louisiana’s capital city,Baton Rouge, means “red stick” in French. The red stick refers to a blood-stained pole that French explorer Iberville found on the bank of the Mississippi River in 1699 at the city’s present location. There are conflicting stories about the stick’s purpose. One theory is that it was a dividing line betwee...