Mario

Mario (Japanese: マリオ, Mario) is the eponymous main character and protagonist of the long-running and highly successful Marioseries. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and also serves as the main mascot of Nintendo. Mario made his first appearance as the protagonist of the arcade game Donkey Kong, released in 1981. Since Super Mario Bros., his trademark abilities have been his jumping and stomping powers, with which he defeats most of his enemies, and his ability to change size and gain powers with a plethora of items, such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower. Games have usually portrayed Mario as a silent character without a distinct personality (Fortune Street is a notable exception). According to Nintendo's philosophy, this allows Mario to fit in many different genres and roles. In most games, he is the hero that goes on an adventure to save Princess Peach from the evil Bowser, but he has been shown doing other activities besides adventuring, such as racing and sporting.

Creation

Concept art for Jumpman.

Following the failure of Radar Scope in North America, Nintendo's then-president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, requested Miyamoto's aid in converting unsoldRadar Scope units into something that would sell well. Miyamoto conceived the concept of a love triangle and decided to make a game based on thePopeye character. He, however, was denied the rights for the Popeye franchise, so he decided to come up with a new idea using his own characters.

For use in his arcade game Donkey Kong, he created the character of Jumpman, who previously went under other names, such as Mr. Video, and originally, "Ossan" (the Japanese term for middle-aged man). This character was given red overalls and a blue shirt in order to make the arms more visible as well as a cap and moustache, as hair and a mouth were impossible to animate on the arcade system.  It is said that during the development for Donkey Kong Jr., the Jumpman character was renamed to Mario when an employee at Nintendo of America's office pointed out the similar physical appearances between Jumpman and Nintendo's Italian landlord, Mario Segale.

Source : http://www.mariowiki.com/mario#Creation