29.9548° N, 90.0749° W
NEW ORLEANS
Most Famous People Born in New Orleans, United States
- Notable people
- 1,804
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- Median birth year
- 1943
- Most distinctive
- Bandleader 45.7×
The birthplace of jazz, and the numbers make it obvious. New Orleans's distinctive professions are bandleaders, rappers, and musicians at concentrations unmatched by any other city in the dataset — the statistical footprint of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Fats Domino, Louis Prima, and the Marsalis family all growing up within a few streetcar stops of each other, with Lil Wayne and Master P extending the line into hip-hop. Baseball and basketball round out the sporting bench, and Truman Capote, Anne Rice, and Lillian Hellman hold down the literary side.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in New Orleans during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 198 notable births.
What New Orleans Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is New Orleans's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (233).
New Orleans over-indexes on bandleader — 45.7× the global rate.
New Orleans under-produces painter — only 0.5× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of New Orleans's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Music
- Politics & Law
- Film & TV
- Writing
- Art & Design
- Other
- Filtered to 1780s Clear ×
José de Villamil
1789 - 1866
Bernard de Marigny
1785 - 1868
Renato Beluche
1780 - 1860
Joseph Marshall Walker
1784 - 1856
Delphine LaLaurie
1780 - 1842
Jean Baptiste Plauché
1785 - 1860
Martin de Villamil
1783 - 1843