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) is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia, Louisiana; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747. The population was 32,623 at the 2000 census.
New Iberia is the principal city of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Iberia Parish.
The town of New Iberia dates from Spring 1779, when a group of 500 Malaguenian colonists and the actual founder Bernardo de Galvez
came up Bayou Teche and settled around Spanish Lake. The Spanish settlers called the town
In 1814, the federal government opened a post office, and it was officially known as "New Iberia," but postmarks shortly thereafter reveal that the town was being called "Nova Iberia" (with Latin for "new"). The town was incorporated as "Iberia" in 1839, but the state legislature resolved the situation in 1847, naming the town New Iberia.
In 1868, Iberia Parish (county) was established, and New Iberia became the seat of parish government. At first, only rented space served for the courthouse, but by 1884 a new courthouse stood on a landscaped lot in downtown New Iberia, at the present-day site of Bouligny Plaza. That courthouse served Iberia Parish until 1940, when the current courthouse was built along Iberia Street, two blocks from the New Iberia downtown commercial district.