Luigi was first brought in as a playable character in the Mario Bros. arcade game in 1983, where he was a palette swap of Mario. Because Miyamoto had observed the two player mode in Joust and wanted to create his own, which led to the Mario Bros. arcade game and inclusion of Luigi.
His name came from a pizza place that was in close proximity to Nintendo of America's HQ in Redmond, Washington, which was named Mario & Luigi's. Ruiji means similar in the Japanese language, with Miyamoto mentioning that he was supposed to be the same size, shape and abilities as Mario. This led him to being a palette swap in many games, until Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, where he first gained his higher jump.
