75 Cajun Baby Names for Your Little One

If you have French or Canadian ancestors, you might find that you have ties to Louisiana and that a Cajun name may be a good choice for your new bundle of joy.

Stefanie Miller

Updated: December 27, 2022

You are probably wondering what qualifies as a Cajun name and why you would want to choose one for your sweet baby. If you have French or Canadian ancestors, you might find that you have ties to Louisiana.

More: The Most Popular Canadian Names

The Acadians were Cajun people who migrated from Canada, and some settlers even migrated from France. Some of the baby names on this list have Acadian roots.

However, the Cajun culture doesn't stop there. If you are a fan or native of New Orleans, you can choose one of these names as a connection to where you come from. This way you have another reason to talk to your child about growing up on the Louisiana Bayou or the French Quarter.

Cajun Girl Names

Acadia - Taken from the name for Cajuns, or Acadians who migrated from Canada
Adelaide - Comes from the German name Adalheidis and means "nobility" in French
Antoinette - For the wife of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution, and means "priceless one"
Aurelie - means "Golden " in French
Babette - French name that means "my God is my oath"
Bernadette - The female version of Bernard, and means "brave bear" in French
Brigitte - The French version of Brighid and means "exalted one"
Camille - French name that means "servant for the temple"
Cecile - A common French Saint name that means "blind" as in "blind of one's beauty"
Corinne - French name that means "maiden"
Dorothy - For Dorothy Mae Taylor, a politician in New Orleans who was the first African American woman to serve in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Eugenie - French form of Eugenia that means "well-born" and is shared with the wife of Napoleon III
Evangeline - The name of a deported Acadian who can be found in the poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Fleur - A baby name that originated in France and is French for "flower"
Genevieve - For French Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris
Helene - Helene Bergeron was a member of Barachois, a traditional Acadian music group
Hestia - The name of an African American owned Cajun restaurant that opened in Houston, Texas in 2020
Hortense - French name that means "gardener"
Jacqueline - The feminine form of Jacques that means "supplanter" in French
Lisette - French name that means "pledged to God"
Louise - The feminine form of Louis that means "renowned warrior"
Lucille - French name that means "light"
Magnolia - The Louisiana state flower
Marcelle - Comes from a popular surname in Louisiana that reached its peak around 1840
Marguerite- French name that means "pearl" and was very popular in the late 19th century
Nola - A nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana
Octavia - The name of a street in New Orleans, Louisiana
Prudence - An Acadian name that means "cautious" in Latin
Sabine - The name of the river that forms part of Louisiana's border
Seraphine - French name that means "burning ones"
Therese - For the French patron Saint Therese of Lisieux
Valerie - Valeria of Milan or Saint Valerie who was venerated in Thibodaux, Louisiana
Yvonne - Featured in the song "Jambalaya (on the bayou)" by Hank Williams and is Cajun French for "my good friend"
Zoe - Greek name that means "life" but was popular in Louisiana in the 8th-century

Cajun Boy Names

Acadian - Taken from the name for Cajuns, or Acadians who migrated from Canada
Adonis - Shares the name with an 8th-century French saint of Vienne
Augustin - Once a popular surname in Louisiana in the 1800s
Bastien - Short for Sebastien and means "person from the ancient city of Sebastia" in French
Benoit- A French name that is derived from the Latin word Benedictus which means "the one who says the good"
Boudreaux - It comes from the French word for a farmer and a common last name for Cajun people
Broussard - For Joseph Broussard, an important historical figure for both the Acadians and Cajuns
Claude - For Claude Guedry who was an Acadian born in Canada and later immigrated to Louisiana
Delphin - Shares the name with a Greek Sea God and translates to "dolphin"
Eloi - French for “chosen”
Emmanuel - For Charles Emmanuel the Duke of Savoy who is of French descent
Etienne - Means "crown" and is the Cajun form of Stephen
Florent - An Old French name that means "in flower"
Fontenot - Derived from the Old French word Fontaine with means "fountain"
Georges - The French version of George
Guidry - A popular Cajun name in Louisiana that was adopted from Claude Guedry
Gustave - A name made popular by Gustave Dore, a French artist
Hebert - An Old French surname
Horace - For Horace Trahan, a musician who sang Cajun music in French
Jacques - French for "supplanter"
Jean-Baptiste - Named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, who founded New Orleans in 1718
Lafayette- French for "faith"
Landry - For Saint Landry, a 7th-century bishop of Paris
Laurent - French for "crowned with laurel"
Lazare - French form of Lazarus that means "God is my help"
Louis - Comes from the state name Louisiana and also for Louis Armstrong who is a native of said state
Marcel - French for "young warrior"
Maurice - French for "dark-skinned"
Olivier - French for "elf warrior"
Philippe - New Orleans was named for Philippe II, Duc d'Orleans
Pierre - French form of Peter and means "stone"
Raphael - Hebrew for "God has healed"
Sebastien - Means "person from the ancient city of Sebastia" in French
Valentin - French for "strong and healthy"
Xavier - French, and Spanish for "house"