Luigi Namesake: Mario Brother Name Tied to Segale’s Father

**TL;DR:** Genealogy research reveals that Luigi, the brother of Super Mario, shares his name with Luigi Maria Segale, the Italian‑born father of Mario Segale, the landlord who inspired Nintendo’s plumber. The connection appears coincidental, and Mario Segale says he is still awaiting any royalty checks tied to the Super Mario brand.

**Context** For years fans have known that Nintendo named its iconic plumber after Mario Arnold Segale, the company’s landlord in 1980s Tukwila, Washington. Less clear was the origin of Luigi, Mario’s timid brother. A senior researcher at MyHeritage, Elisabeth Zetland, explored the Segale family tree while promoting the recent Super Mario Galaxy Movie release and uncovered a direct link.

**Key Facts** Luigi Maria Segale, father of the man who inspired Super Mario, was born in 1886 in Favale di Malvaro near Genoa, Italy. Elisabeth Zetland said the connection between Luigi Segale and the character Luigi is just a coincidence. Mario Segale remarked that he is still waiting for royalty checks related to the Super Mario name.

**What It Means** The discovery adds a generational layer to the Nintendo origin story, showing that the fictional Luigi mirrors a real‑life immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1909, served in World War I, and later farmed in the Pacific Northwest. While Zetland stresses the similarity is accidental, the coincidence highlights how personal histories can echo in popular culture without intent. Nintendo has not commented on whether it was aware of the paternal name match.

**What to watch next** Researchers will continue to examine any further overlaps between the Segale family and Nintendo’s branding, and fans await an official statement from the company regarding the newly surfaced connection.