Most Common Cajun Last Names of Louisiana

Stop me if you've heard this before; Louisiana is a melting pot. Although if you're Cajun, you might say "gumbo pot".

But its true, ever since the beginning, Louisiana has been a place where people from all races, religions, countries, creeds, and class have come to stay. The intertwining of those demographics over time has led to a very eclectic state. But there's one constant that stands out in Louisiana over all of that melting pot action...and actually, its a big part of the pot too.

I guess if we used the gumbo analogy again, they would be the roux.

Of course we're talking about Louisiana's Cajun population. When it comes to Cajuns, at least their lineage/names, Louisiana leads the nations (of course). But did you know, the roots of Cajun names are actually well to our north? According to Genealogy Bank:

"Acadia spread across Maritime Canada, but also Quebec and parts of Maine. Henceforth called Acadians, these early French settlers lived peacefully alongside the Wabanaki Confederacy, a collective of Native American nations that had banded together in the area.

How did the Acadians move from all the way up North down to Louisiana? The ultimate cause was due to rising political tensions between the British and the French, twin rulers of the region. Acadians refused to take the oath of unconditional allegiance to the British Crown and resisted British rule for 45 years with support from the Wabanaki Confederacy, who helped them by conducting raids."

So after the migrations of Cajuns generations ago, which of those Cajun clans is most dominant in the state right now?

Now, for reference, the most common last name in the whole state is Smith. The frequency of finding a "Smith" in the state is 1:91 people. In overall last names, Hebert is a TOP 10 in the whole state. It ranks higher than common last names like Miller, Taylor, White, Harris, and Martin.

In no particular order, here are Louisiana's most popular Cajun last names: