The following is a list of common surnames in Louisiana Creole communities throughout the state that require diacritics or accent marks. These diacritics were once the standard in our communities, in French and Spanish as well as in English, but seem to have vanished in the 20th century.
The reasons for their disappearance are complex but ultimately are linked to the English-only educational mandate passed in 1921, requiring public education in the state to occur exclusively in the English language. Since most Creoles had little to no formal education, Anglophone teachers were often imported from other parts of Louisiana and the nation to teach Creole children in Creole communities. Conformity to national and regional Anglophone culture was the norm between 1916 and 1968, many surnames were anglicized and those that were not lost their diacritics on official documents and were not taught in schools by people who probably never knew them.
These diacritics are important, however, because unlike English, where accent marks are most often ornamental, in other languages they are required as they aide the reader in accurately pronouncing the names. So, in French, the vowel e by itself can take 3 different sounds depending on whether a diacritic is present, or not (e, é, è). Without the accents, outsiders, and now insiders too, have no clue how to pronounce the name if they do not speak French, Spanish, Kouri-Vini, German, etc. We should point out that some of the surnames below that are Hispanophone in origin, often are shared by Lusophones (Portuguese-speakers) and in Portuguese may not use a diacritic whereas in Spanish, they do.
Note that these diacritics should only be placed above or beneath letters, not on the side of them as apostrophes.
This list is not exhaustive. It only serves as an initial guide. If you have others that should be added, please do add them as a comment.
A
Adélard/Adélatte
Allègre
Almonáster y Róxas
Álvarez/Álvares
Andrépont
Authément
B
Bajolière
Balqué/Balké
Barnabé
Barré
Barrière
Barthé
Barthélemy/Bartélémi
Bégnaud
Bélisaire/Bélizaire
Bellemère
Benoît
Bérault
Bérard
Bergéron
Bernabé
Berthélot
Biégas
Boché
Bodé
Boisdoré
Bolívar
Bordélon
Boré
Boutté
Boyancé
Boyé
Brodé
Brodère
Brûlé/Bruslé
Buèche
C
Cálvo
Carrère
Carrière
Casénave
Célestin
Célestine
Césaire
Cézar
Chachéré
Chélette
Chênevert
Chénier
Chéramie
Chéry
Chévis
Chrétien
Clément
Clémence
Clémenceau
Clémentin
Clémentine
Coquière
Cortés/Cortéz
D
Daprément
Dartès/Dartèz
Dauphiné
Débrière
Déclouette
Découx
Décuir
Déculus
Dédé
Dégueyterre/Déguéterre
Déjean
Démouchet/Démouchette
Derbès
Dérise
Déruisé
Destréhan
Détiège
Días/Díaz
Domínguez/Domíngues
Doré
Duchêne
Ducongé
Ducôté
Ducré
Dugué
Duhé
Dupéron
Dupléchin/Dupléchien/Dupléchain
Dupré/Duprée
Durán
de Boré
de Gálvez
de Générès
de Grandpré
de Gruÿ/de Gruïs
de Kerlégand
de la Morandière
de la Peña
de Léry
de Mandéville
de Ortíz
de Vézin/de Vésin
des Hôtels/Deshôtels
des Mézilières/Desmézilières/Dêmézilière
des Prés/Després
E
Étié
Étienne
F
Fauché
Fernándes/Fernández
Flégeance
Fonténot
Forestière
Forêt
Fouché
François
Frémin
Fréjus
Frère
Fretté
Frugé
Fusélier
G
Gagné
García
Gérard
Gómez/Gómes
González/Gonzáles
Grandpré
Grégoire
Grévemberg
Gripière
Guédry
Guénard
Guênon
Guérin
Gutiérrez/Gutiérres
H
Haché
Hébert
Héno
Hernández/Hernándes
Honoré
I
Ibáñes
J
Jiménez/Ximénes
K
Kerlégand/Kerlégan/Kerlégon
L
Labbé/L’abbé
Lachaussée
Lacôte
Laliberté
Lamartinière
Larivière
Lecêne/Lesêne
Lédé/Lédée/Lédèt
Lefèvre
Léger/Légé
Lemaître
Lémon/Lémont
Léon
León (Hisp.)
Lespérance
López
Louvière
M
Mäder (Germ.)/Madère
Mandéville
Marín (Hisp.)
Márquez/Márques
Martín (Hisp.)
Martínez/Martínes
Mattéo
Mèche
Médiamolle
Mélançon/Melançon/Mélanson
Ménard
Menéndez
Métoyer
Míguez/Mígues
Miró
Moïse
Montégut
Múñoz/Múños
N
Néda
Née
Nérault/Néro
Nézat
Noël
Núñes/Núñez
O
Ogé
Olée
Orgéron
Orphé/Orphée
Ortégo
Ozémé
P
Pécot
Peña
Pérault
Pérez
Périer
Péro
Philémond/Filémon
Piquéry
Plauché
Poché
Porée
Préjean
Prévost/Prévôt
Q
Quiñones
R
Ramírez/Ramíres
Raphaël
Réaux (Not to confuse with Reaux or Rau)
Régis
Rémy/Rémi
Rénaud/Rénault
Réné/René
Riché
Risdoré
Rivière
Rodríguez/Rodrígues
Romère
Ruíz
S
St. Aimé
St. André
St. Çyr
St. Pé
Sáenz
Sánchez/Sánches
Schärer
Séjour
Séligny
Sémer
Sémère
Sénégal/Sinégal
Sénétière/Sénéquaire
Sénette/Chénet
Séveigné
Sévigné
Siméon
Soulé
Soulié
Suárez/Suáres
Sylvé
T
Théodule/Théodile
Thériot
Trémé
Trémi
Trévigne
U
Usé/Uzé/Uzée
V
Valée
Valère
Valéry
Vallière/Valière
Vásquez
Védrine
Velásco
Vigé
W
Wèbre
Y
Z
Zénon/Zéno
Zéphyrin/Zéphiryn
Zéringue