Several of the Koopa Kids' names are parodies of various musical celebrities, most of whom were popular at the time of the game's production. The names were chosen by Nintendo of America employee Dayvv Brooks, a longtime music enthusiast who previously worked at music retailer Tower Records and as a radio DJ:

• Iggy Koopa is named after Iggy Pop, an American rock singer and frontman of the proto-punk group The Stooges.
• Lemmy Koopa takes his name from Lemmy Kilmister, a British heavy metal artist best known as the bassist and lead vocalist for the band Motörhead.
• Ludwig Von Koopa is named after 19th century German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, and shares his wild hairstyle.
• Morton Koopa Jr. is named after American pop and country singer Morton Downey Jr., now perhaps best known for his self-titled talk show. Morton Koopa Jr. also has a white face with a black star over his left eye, the trademark makeup of guitarist Paul Stanley from the American hard rock band KISS.
• Roy Koopa is named after American country singer Roy Orbison, and both wear horn-rimmed sunglasses.
• Wendy O. Koopa is named after Wendy O. Williams, an American punk singer and frontwoman of the shock rock band the Plasmatics.

The namesake of Larry Koopa remains unclear, with multiple explanations emerging over the years. In 2010, the web page for Nintendo's official UK magazine claimed that the character was named after American talk show host Larry King. However, two years later, Brooks himself made an edit on the Super Mario Wiki claiming that the name was actually derived from Larry Mullen Jr., the drummer for Irish pop rock band U2; site staffer Walkazo verified that the account was legitimate. Brooks ultimately denied both claims in a 2015 interview with Kotaku, stating that "There's no real-world equivalent — he's not Larry Mullen Jr. from U2 or Larry King — he just looked like a Larry."