I’m in the South and have called a racoon a coon my whole life. Learn something new everyday.
Being in the South, then surely you’ve heard the term coonass.
It’s commonly used in 22 parishes in South Louisiana, as well as Southeast TX and Southern MS.
It refers to people in LA who come from Acadian background, commonly called Cajuns. They have t-shirts, caps and bumper stickers that proclaim they are Proud To Be A Coonass!
When I was in the Navy, one of the men in my division from LA had the last name Hebert (Eh-bear), but his nickname was Coonass.