Few People Know How These 14 Parishes In Louisiana Got Their Names
By Jackie Ann|Published May 24, 2021
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Jackie Ann
Author
Louisiana native and LSU Alum (Geaux Tigers!), Jackie has lived in Louisiana for over three decades and currently lives in New Orleans. She's been writing for OnlyInYourState since 2016 and can often be found with a coffee at her side, dreaming of her next adventure.
In just about every other state (looking at you, Alaska) they’re called counties, but here in Louisiana, they’re called parishes (or boroughs in Alaska). Louisiana has 64 parishes, and you might be surprised to learn how a few of them got their names. Sure, there are the presidential ones like Madison, Lincoln, Jackson, and Washington Parishes, but we’ve picked out a few with origin stories that may surprise you.
Created in 1807, Avoyelles Parish may be known for its French colonial history, but this central Louisiana parish is actually named for the Avoyel Native American tribe.
The parish names are derived from the French phrase meaning "red stick." A red stick was used by Native Americans to mark the boundaries between surrounding tribes and their territories.
St. Tammany is an outlier when it comes to parishes named after saints, as Tammany wasn't a saint! The parish is actually named for Chief Tamanend, a Principle Lenape Chief who was unofficially considered the "Patron Saint of America."
There's plenty of fertile land that's great for farming in Louisiana, and that’s why they named Terrebonne after the French phrase for good land, "terre bonne."
Last but certainly not least, we can’t have Washington without paying tribute to his home, Mount Vernon.
Did your parish make the list? Were there any you were surprised to learn? Let us know in the comments! And for further history reading, check out how these small towns in Louisiana got their names.
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