# Paul (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/paul/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “small” |
| Pronunciation | /pɔl/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Paulie, Pauly |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,404,135 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,398,293 / 5,842 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,606, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin Paulus, from paulus (“small”). Doublet of Pablo and Paolo.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 25 | 4,169 |
| 1992 | 15 | 6,221 |
| 1993 | 9 | 9,314 |
| 1994 | 10 | 8,611 |
| 1995 | 12 | 7,396 |
| 1996 | 13 | 7,031 |
| 1997 | 14 | 6,727 |
| 1998 | 11 | 8,435 |
| 1999 | 6 | 13,974 |
| 2000 | 9 | 10,526 |
| 2001 | 7 | 13,133 |
| 2003 | 7 | 13,476 |
| 2004 | 9 | 11,395 |
| 2005 | 5 | 18,482 |
| 2006 | 6 | 16,623 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,078 | 186 |
| 2012 | 1,958 | 190 |
| 2013 | 2,038 | 198 |
| 2014 | 2,007 | 201 |
| 2015 | 2,032 | 200 |
| 2016 | 1,941 | 206 |
| 2017 | 1,699 | 225 |
| 2018 | 1,635 | 234 |
| 2019 | 1,513 | 245 |
| 2020 | 1,401 | 252 |
| 2021 | 1,385 | 257 |
| 2022 | 1,334 | 262 |
| 2023 | 1,359 | 256 |
| 2024 | 1,330 | 262 |
| 2025 | 1,316 | 262 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 182 | 263 |
| 2012 | 183 | 259 |
| 2013 | 161 | 285 |
| 2014 | 150 | 305 |
| 2015 | 169 | 286 |
| 2016 | 159 | 303 |
| 2017 | 131 | 357 |
| 2018 | 133 | 343 |
| 2019 | 121 | 364 |
| 2020 | 111 | 384 |
| 2021 | 81 | 489 |
| 2022 | 84 | 472 |
| 2023 | 86 | 464 |
| 2024 | 65 | 586 |
| 2025 | 64 | 602 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: بَوْل
- Armenian: Պողոս
- Bulgarian: Па́вел, Пол
- Catalan: Pau, Pol
- Chinese: 保羅 /保罗
- Czech: Pavel
- Danish: Poul
- Dutch: Paul, Pol
- Esperanto: Paŭlo
- Estonian: Paavel, Paavo
- Finnish: Paavali, Paavo, Pauli
- French: Paul
- Georgian: პავლე
- German: Paul
- Greek: Παύλος, Πολ, dated Πωλ (Pol)
- Hebrew: פול
- Hindi: पॉल
- Hungarian: Pál
- Icelandic: Páll
- Irish: Póil, Pól

## People named Paul

- Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter (1577–1640)
- Paul McCartney, English musician and member of the Beatles (born 1942)
- Paul Cézanne, French painter (1839–1906)
- Paul Gauguin, French painter and printmaker (1848–1903)
- Paul Dirac, British theoretical physicist (1902–1984)
- Paul Verlaine, French poet (1844-1896)
- Paul Newman, American actor (1925–2008)
- Paul Walker, American actor (1973–2013)
- Paul Samuelson, American economist (1915–2009)
- Paul Valéry, French poet, essayist, and philosopher (1871–1945)
- Paul Pogba, French footballer (born 1993)
- Paul V, 233rd pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1605 to 1621

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.