MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: Louisiana high school mascots

Just as important as a school's name and its location is its mascot. Options abound, and some teams go with the commonplace while others go with the truly unique.

In Louisiana, there are 417 schools with mascots listed in the MaxPreps database. Listed below are the Top 15 most popular mascot names in Louisiana, the mascot names that only one school owns and other mascot facts/stats.

ONE AND ONLY CHIPMUNKS
It's unlikely that you will find an Alvin at Archbishop Chapelle (Metairie). But the Chipmunks are a guarantee. The New Orleans-area school is home to the Chipmunks, and it's the only one in the nation to go with the name. The reason why the school chose Chipmunks can't be found online. Our guess? It's either that they are considered cute animals, or that they are more fearsome that people think. The omnivores are known to eat small frogs and worms, so it's not all nuts and berries.

PAGIN' ALL CAJUNS
Cajuns, a distinguished ethnic group in America recognized by the government, trace their origins to the eastern seabord of present-day America and then the far northeastern provinces of Canada before trekking to Louisiana in the late 1700s. They still retain a dialect of the French language, and Cajun cuisine is a popular choice in Louisiana.  Metairie Park Country Day is a big part of Louisiana culture as well, so the mascot name is appropriate. The University of Louisiana Lafayette chose Ragin' Cajuns for its mascot name, but Lafayette and Metairie aren't too close together.

LADIES & GENTLEMEN
They're not just boys and girls at Crowley. They are Ladies and Gentlemen. Or, according to some reports online, the Fightin' Gents. The Crowley Post Signal refers to the boys teams as the Gents and the girls teams as the Ladies. So where did they come up with the name? Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is a mystery. It's amazingly vague, yet so genius at the same time.

MORE THAN LITTLE PIECES OF WOOD
The girls from St. Joseph's Academy (Baton Rouge) aren't named after a ferocious animal or some other formidable force. No, they're just named after pieces of wood. But don't think it's that simple: There's a lot of history behind the Redstickers name. The City of Baton Rogue states that the city's name came from the early 1700's, when French settlers found large red poles with fish heads and bear heads attached to them. One possible reason for the red poles? Boundaries separating hunting areas of different Indian tribes. Baton Rogue, the school's home town, can be translated to "Red stick" in French.

IRONEAGLES WITHOUT THE I
Don't bother looking for a Roneagle in the dictionary. You would be wasting your time if you did. The kids from McDonogh 35 (New Orleans) are Roneagles, which is essentially an Ironeagle with the first letter dropped. The school's website has an explanation of what a Roneagle is, and what it takes to become one: "The Roneagle, the emblem of McDonogh 35 Senior High School, is a most extraordinary bird. It is fashioned in solid iron and is the mightiest, swiftest and most resourceful of all winged creatures. It takes four years to develop from an eagle to an adult Roneagle. The hard-core iron diet that is fed daily helps to develop the birds' power and character. The Roneagle is presently seen perched in the legal, educational, medical, religious, and all other fields of community life throughout the world. It is known locally, nationally, and internationally." We say it's an Ironeagle without the first letter, but it's hard to find much on Ironeagles either. So while the meaning may be hard to understand, nobody can doubt the originality.

TOP 15 MOST POPULAR MASCOT NAMES
# Tigers 38
# Panthers 24
# Bulldogs 21
# Eagles 21 (There is 1 Golden Eagles, 1 Roneagles and 1 War Eagles)
# Lions 15
Rebels 15
Hornets 13
# Warriors 12
# Wildcats 12
# Trojans 11
Gators 10
# Cougars 10
Patriots 9
Bears 9
# Mustangs 8
# Denotes mascot name is in America's Top 15

MASCOT NAMES USED BY ONLY 1 SCHOOL

Aggies Angels Apaches Bearkats Bengals Blackcats Blazers Bluejays Braves Buffaloes * Cajuns Chargers * Charging    Indians * Chipmunks

Colonels Comets Commodores Crescents Crimson Tide Devils Doves Farmers * Fighting Blue    Jays Fighting Irish * Fire Birds Flame Flames

Flyers Golden Eagles Golden Tornado * Golden Tors Green Wave Greenies Greyhounds Gryphons Hounds Kangaroos * Ladies &   Gentlemen Olympians Owls

Purple Knights * Pythians Redskins * Redstickers Rockets * Roneagles Skippers Terriers Tornadoes Wampus Cats War Eagles Warhorses Wolfpack Yellow Jackets

* Denotes that no other school in America has that mascot name

MASCOT STATS
Most popular mascot name is used by 9.1 percent of schools.
There are 105 different mascot names for 417 schools.
10 schools have mascot names that no other American school has.
Louisiana's Top 15 features 10 of America's Top 15 mascot names.