Mario, Mario, wherefore art thou Mario?

In Japan, they called him Jumpman. He was supposed to be named Mr. Video. He eventually became Mario. But why?

There are several theories as to how the Italian plumber got his name, but they are usually based on urban legends or guesswork.

The most common account says Mario was named after the landlord for the Nintendo of America warehouse, Mario Segale. As the story goes, he came by the office, upset over a late payment. Apparently, the Nintendo developers were so inspired by this guy, they named their franchise character after him.

How about Luigi?

You may have heard about a pizza parlor down the street from the Nintendo offices called "Mario & Luigi's."

It turns out, it's all much simpler than that.


This is from a 1986 New Straits Times interview with Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto:



So the origin of the names Mario and Luigi are pretty common sense. Mario, because the guy who ran their hotel was Italian and had a mustache and a big schnoz. Luigi, because his character was similar to Mario (just a palette swap) and ruiji is Japanese for similar. So clever.

As for the Mario Brothers' last name? I don't care what anyone says. They will always be Mario Mario and Luigi Mario to me.

Read the whole article from the New Straits Times.