You think you know him. Red hat, bushy mustache, questionable medical degree—basically the most famous face on the planet. But if you walk up to a random person and ask for the super mario brothers names, you’ll probably get a confident "Mario and Luigi" followed by a blank stare.
That’s where the trouble starts.
Honestly, the history of how these characters got their names is a messy pile of legal disputes, bad puns, and translation errors that just... stuck. It isn’t as simple as a creative team sitting in a room and picking names out of a hat. It was more like a decades-long game of telephone between Japan and America.
The Mario Mario Paradox
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Is his name really Mario Mario?
For years, Nintendo officially said no. Shigeru Miyamoto, the guy who actually breathed life into the character, spent a long time insisting that Mario was just "Mario." He didn’t have a last name. He was like Prince or Cher, but with more plumbing tools.
But then the 1993 live-action movie happened. You know the one—with the gritty underground Dino-Manhattan? In that film, the writers needed a reason why they were called the "Mario Brothers" if only one of them was named Mario. Their solution? Mario Mario and Luigi Mario.
Miyamoto actually hated this at first. He laughed it off as a Hollywood invention. But strangely, as the years rolled by, he changed his mind. At the 30th anniversary festival for the series, he finally caved and confirmed that, yeah, his name is Mario Mario. It’s canon now.
It’s weird. It’s repetitive. But it explains why the business is called "Mario Bros." instead of "The Mario and Luigi Plumbing Service."
The Landlord Who Saved the Franchise
Mario wasn’t always Mario. In his first outing in Donkey Kong (1981), he was just "Jumpman." Before that, Miyamoto called him "Mr. Video."
The shift to super mario brothers names happened because of a guy named Mario Segale. Back in the early 80s, Nintendo of America was a struggling startup operating out of a warehouse in Tukwila, Washington. They were behind on rent. One day, their landlord, Mario Segale, stormed into the office to demand his money.
The staff, led by Minoru Arakawa, eventually convinced him that the check was coming. After he left, they realized the stubby little character in their new game looked remarkably like the angry Italian-American landlord. They started calling the character "Mario" as a joke.
The joke became the biggest brand in history. Segale, a real estate developer who mostly stayed out of the spotlight, reportedly joked later in life that he was "still waiting for his royalty checks."
Why Luigi is Basically a Pun
Luigi often gets the short end of the stick. He’s the "green one." He’s the taller, scarier twin. But his name is actually one of the cleverest bits of wordplay in the series.
While Luigi is a common Italian name, the choice was specifically made because of the Japanese word ruiji, which translates to "similar."
Think about it. In the original Super Mario Bros., Luigi was literally just a palette swap. He had the exact same sprite as Mario, just with green overalls instead of red. He was "similar" to Mario. The name works perfectly as a Western name while being a wink and a nod to the developers' lazy (at the time) character design.
The Princess and the Identity Crisis
If you grew up in the 80s or early 90s, you didn't know a "Princess Peach." You knew Princess Toadstool.
This is one of the most famous examples of localization friction. In Japan, she was always Princess Peach. When the game came to the US, Nintendo of America thought "Peach" sounded too soft or maybe just irrelevant to a kingdom filled with fungi. They rebranded her as Toadstool to fit the theme.
The two names lived in separate universes until Super Mario 64 in 1996. That game famously opened with a letter:
"Dear Mario, please come to the castle. I've baked a cake for you. Yours truly, Princess Peach—Toadstool."
It was a clunky way to bridge the gap, but it worked. Since then, "Toadstool" has basically been treated as her surname, while Peach is her given name. It’s why she’s usually just called Peach now—it’s less of a mouthful and matches the Japanese branding.
Bowser, Koopa, and Korean Soup
The King of the Koopas has a name that sounds tough and aggressive. "Bowser" feels like a name for a big, spiked turtle.
But in Japan, his name is just Koopa (or Kuppa). This wasn't some ancient mythological reference. Miyamoto actually named him after a Korean dish called gukbap (rendered as kuppa in Japanese). It’s basically a hearty soup with rice.
Miyamoto was choosing between a few food names—including yukhoe (raw meat) and bibimbap (mixed rice)—before settling on the soup.
When the game was localized, "Koopa" was turned into the name of the species (the Koopa Troopas), and the leader was given the name Bowser. Where did "Bowser" come from? Most historians think it was just a popular name for big dogs at the time. They wanted him to sound like a beast, so they gave him a "tough" pet name.
Wario and Waluigi: The "Bad" Twins
The naming convention for the villains is perhaps the most Japanese thing about the entire franchise.
Most English speakers think "Wario" is just an "M" flipped upside down to make a "W." While that’s visually true, the name actually comes from the Japanese word warui, meaning "bad."
- Wario = Warui + Mario (Bad Mario).
- Waluigi = Warui + Luigi (Bad Luigi).
In Japanese, Waluigi is Waruīji, which is a perfect portmanteau. In English, it sounds a bit like "Wall-Wheegee," which is definitely weirder, but the "bad" prefix has become iconic regardless.
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The Obscure Names You Forgot
Beyond the core cast, the list of super mario brothers names gets truly bizarre. There’s Pauline, named after the wife of a Nintendo employee (Polly James). There’s Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew, who recently made a comeback in the movie.
And let’s not forget the Koopalings. Originally, they were supposed to be Bowser’s kids, but Nintendo later retconned that (only Bowser Jr. is his actual son). Their names are a parade of music history:
- Ludwig von Koopa (Beethoven)
- Lemmy Koopa (Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead)
- Iggy Koopa (Iggy Pop)
- Wendy O. Koopa (Wendy O. Williams)
- Morton Koopa Jr. (Morton Downey Jr.)
- Roy Koopa (Roy Orbison)
- Larry Koopa (Likely Larry Mullen Jr. from U2, though this one is debated)
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
Naming is branding. The reason these names work isn't because they were "cool" in 1985—it's because they became synonymous with the feeling of the games.
If you're a trivia buff or just want to sound like an expert next time you're playing Mario Kart, remember these three things:
- Mario’s full name is officially Mario Mario, but only because a 90s movie forced Nintendo’s hand.
- Most of the "Western" names (Bowser, Toadstool) were created because localizers didn't think Japanese food names (Kuppa, Peach) would sell.
- The names are rarely "cool" by design; they are almost always inside jokes or puns that grew into legends.
Next time you see a green shell flying toward you, just remember: that shell is technically a "Nokonoko," and the guy who threw it is probably a "Bad Similar."