List of Louisiana parish name etymologies

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This is a list of Louisiana parish name etymologies:

Acadia Parish: Acadia is named for the Acadians.
Allen Parish: Allen is named after Henry Watkins Allen, the Confederate governor of Louisiana.
Ascension Parish: Ascension is named for the Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
Assumption Parish: Assumption is named for the Assumption Roman Catholic Church, the oldest in the state.
Avoyelles Parish: Avoyelles is named after the Avoyel Native American people.
Beauregard Parish: Beauregard is named after CSA general P. G. T. Beauregard.
Bienville Parish: Bienville is named after the founder of the city of New Orleans, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
Bossier Parish: Bossier is after U.S. Representative Evariste Bossier.
Caddo Parish: Caddo is named for the Caddo Native American people.
Calcasieu Parish: Calcasieu, meaning crying eagle, is said to be the name of an Atakapa Native American leader.
Caldwell Parish: Caldwell was named for the locally prominent Caldwell family.
Cameron Parish: Cameron is named for U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron.
Catahoula Parish: Catahoula is named after Catahoula Lake, formerly within the parish's boundaries (now within LaSalle Parish) and named from a Tensas word meaning big, clear lake.
Claiborne Parish: Claiborne Parish is named after Governor of Louisiana William C. C. Claiborne.
Concordia Parish: Concordia's name is of uncertain origin and may be from an early land grant called New Concordia, from the "concord" reached by local authorities over a mutual surrender of slaves or for a mansion called Concord which was owned by Governor de Lemos.
De Soto Parish: De Soto is named after Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.
East Baton Rouge Parish: Both Batons Rogue are from the French phrase bâton rouge meaning red stick. A red stick was used by local Native Americans to mark the boundaries between tribal territories.
East Carroll Parish: Both Carroll parishes are named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
East Feliciana Parish: Both Feliciana Parishes are said to be named for Felicite de Gálvez, the wife of Bernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory.
Evangeline Parish: Evangeline is named after the Acadian heroine of the poem "Evangeline" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Franklin Parish: Franklin is named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
Grant Parish: Grant is named for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
Iberia Parish: Iberia was named by Spanish settlers in honor of the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberville Parish: Iberville is named after an explorer named Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, the brother of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
Jackson Parish: Jackson is named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
Jefferson Parish: Jefferson is named after Founding Father Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson Davis Parish: Jefferson Davis Parish is named for Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America.
La Salle Parish: La Salle is named after explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
Lafayette Parish: Lafayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette.
Lafourche Parish: Lafourche is named from the French phrase la forche or in English, the fork; Bayou Lafourche, or Fork Bayou, is a fork of the Mississippi River.
Lincoln Parish: Lincoln is named in honor of Abraham Lincoln.
Livingston Parish: Livingston is named after U.S. Secretary of State Edward Livingston.
Madison Parish: Madison is named after U.S. President James Madison.
Morehouse Parish: Morehouse is named after early settler Abraham Morehouse.
Natchitoches Parish: Natchitoches is named for the Natchitoches Native American people.
Orleans Parish: Orleans Parish and the city of New Orleans is named after the Duke of Orléans, the regent of France.
Ouachita Parish: Ouachita is named for the Ouachita Native American people.
Plaquemines Parish: Plaquemines is a word meaning persimmons created from the Louisiana Creole French and the Mobile Native American language.
Pointe Coupee Parish: Pointe Coupee is named from the French phrase la pointe coupee or in English, the place of the cut-off.
Rapides Parish: Rapides is named for local river rapids.
Red River Parish: Red River Parish is named for the Red River, which is part of the Mississippi River watershed.
Richland Parish: Richland is named for its rich land.
Sabine Parish: Sabine is named for the Sabine River and the so-called Sabine Free State.
St. Bernard Parish: St. Bernard Parish is named after Saint Bernard; presumably the patron saint of Bernardo de Galvez who granted land to the Canary Islanders who settled the area in 1778 while Louisiana was under Spanish rule. The Parish was previously named Terre-aux-Bouef, "Land of Oxen" because of large herds of bison that once inhabited the area.
St. Charles Parish: St. Charles Parish is named after Saint Charles.
St. Helena Parish: St. Helena Parish is named after Saint Helena.
St. James Parish: St. James is named after Saint James.
St. John the Baptist Parish: St. John the Baptist Parish is named after Saint John the Baptist.
St. Landry Parish: St. Landry Parish is named after Saint Landry.
St. Martin Parish: St. Martin Parish is named after Saint Martin.
St. Mary Parish: St. Mary is named after Saint Mary.
St. Tammany Parish: St. Tammany Parish is named after the legendary Indian Chief Tamanend.
Tangipahoa Parish: Tangipahoa comes from an Acolapissa word meaning ear of corn or those who gather corn.
Tensas Parish: Tensas is named after the Tensas or Taensa Native American people.
Terrebonne Parish: Terrebonne is named from the French phrase terre bonne or in English, good land.
Union Parish: Union is named for the union of states which make up the U.S.
Vermilion Parish: Vermilion is named for both the Vermilion River and Vermilion Bay.
Vernon Parish: Vernon is named after Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first U.S. President.
Washington Parish: Washington Parish is named after U.S. President George Washington.
Webster Parish: Webster is named for U.S. statesman Daniel Webster.
West Baton Rouge Parish: Both Batons Rogue are from the French phrase bâton rouge meaning red stick. A red stick was used by local Native Americans to mark the boundaries between tribal territories.
West Carroll Parish: Both Carroll parishes are named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
West Feliciana Parish: Both Feliciana Parishes are said to be named for Felicite de Gálvez, the wife of Bernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory.
Winn Parish: Winn is named after Louisiana state legislator Walter Winn.