Editing Cajuns (section)

===Ethnic mixing and non-Acadian origins===
[[File:Bits of Saint Malo Scenery Colorized.jpg|thumb|300px|Filipino Cajuns of [[Saint Malo, Louisiana]].]]

Not all Cajuns descend solely from Acadian exiles who settled in south Louisiana in the 18th century. Cajuns include people with Irish and Spanish ancestry, and to a lesser extent of Germans and Italians; Many also have [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], [[Demographics of Africa|African]] and [[Creoles of color|Afro-Latin Creole]] admixture. Historian Carl A. Brasseaux asserted that this process of mixing created the Cajuns in the first place.<ref name=Brasseaux/>

Non-Acadian [[French Creoles]] in rural areas were absorbed into Cajun communities. Some Cajun parishes, such as [[Evangeline Parish|Evangeline]] and [[Avoyelles Parish|Avoyelles]], possess relatively few inhabitants of actual Acadian origin. Their populations descend in many cases from settlers who migrated to the region from [[Quebec]], [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], or directly from France ([[French emigration (1789–1815)|French emigration]]). Regardless, Acadian influences are generally acknowledged to have prevailed in most sections of south Louisiana.

Many Cajuns have ancestors who were not French. Some of the original settlers in Louisiana were [[Basque people|Spanish Basques]] and Spanish [[Isleños|Canary Islanders]]. A later migration included Irish and German immigrants who began to settle in Louisiana before and after the [[Louisiana Purchase]], particularly on the [[German Coast]] along the [[Mississippi River]] north of [[New Orleans]].  People of [[Latin American]] origin; a number of early [[Filipino people|Filipino]] settlers (notably in [[Saint Malo (Louisiana)|Saint Malo, Louisiana]]) who were known as "[[Manilamen]]" from the annual cross-[[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[Galleon]] or [[Manila Galleon]] trade with neighboring [[Acapulco, Mexico]]; descendants of African slaves; and some [[Cuban American]]s have also settled along the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf Coast]], and in some cases, intermarried into Cajun families.

One obvious result of this cultural mixture is the variety of surnames common among the Cajun population. Surnames of the original Acadian settlers (which are documented) have been augmented by French and non-French family names that have become part of Cajun communities. The spelling of many family names has changed over time. (See, for example, ''[[Eaux]])''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l29RDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |title=Language Variety in the New South: Contemporary Perspectives on Change and Variation|last1=Reaser|first1=Jeffrey|last2=Wilbanks|first2=Eric|last3=Wojcik|first3=Karissa|last4=Wolfram|first4=Walt|date=2018-03-15|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=9781469638812|language=en}}</ref>