Girl's name
Paula
Say it PAW-luh
Latin origin 2 syllables
Where Paula is loved, common and rare
Common across Spain, six German cities, Austria and one more place. Rare in Poland, France, Norway and four more places.
1 in 5,282 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Catalonia 20thCologne 22ndMunich 23rd
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 17 of the 40 official lists, among them Catalonia (20th), Cologne (22nd) and Munich (23rd).
Show all 17 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 11th 2024 | 1,527 | rank only |
| Catalonia region | 20th 2025 | 189 | 1 in 102 |
| Cologne city | 22nd 2023 | 32 | about 1 in 192 |
| Munich city | 23rd 2025 | 41 | about 1 in 102 |
| Austria | 42nd 2025 | 174 | 1 in 205 |
| Berlin city | 48th 2023 | 52 | about 1 in 279 |
| Switzerland | 94th 2025 | 75 | 1 in 453 |
| Poland | 246th 2025 | 22 | 1 in 5,445 |
| France | 337th 2025 | 160 | 1 in 1,792 |
| Norway | 491st 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,449 |
| Sweden | 651st 2025 | 8 | about 1 in 5,021 |
| Ireland | 718th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,282 |
| Italy | 779th 2024 | 13 | 1 in 13,782 |
| England and Wales | 1584th 2025 | 19 | 1 in 13,331 |
| Leipzig city | 26th 2025 | 14 | about 1 in 187 |
| Bonn city | 28th 2025 | 16 | about 1 in 188 |
| Rostock city | 92nd 2025 | 2 | about 1 in 492 |
Rare, below the listed names: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
Paula is the feminine form of Paulus, the Latin name that became Paul in English, and it was borrowed directly from Latin. Paul the Apostle, whose letters fill much of the New Testament, is the best-known bearer of the male form. No separate meaning is attested for Paula itself.
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It has two syllables, PAW-luh, with the stress on the first. Paulina and Pauline are its longer relatives, Paola is the Italian form, and Pavla and Poula are further variants.
Today Paula is most at home in Spain, where it is a top-20 name, and it is also very popular in Catalonia and Austria. In English-speaking countries it is now uncommon, used mainly in Ireland and in England and Wales. In Canada it belongs above all to the late 1960s, when it reached its peak, and it is falling in more places than it is rising.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- PAW-luh, 2 syllables
- Origin
- Latin
- Other spellings
- Pauline
- Paulina
- Poula
- Pouline
- Paola
- Saula
- Paulla
- Pavla
- Pabla
- Paule
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Paula, feminine form of Paulus (Paul).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 1 of 12 regions, falling in 5.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 881 | 836 | 761 | 897 | 1200 | 957 | 1685 | 2504 | 1491 | 1584 |
| Northern Ireland | 440 | 432 | 298 | 407 | ||||||
| Ireland | 661 | 524 | 629 | 421 | 375 | 747 | 727 | 736 | 718 | |
| Ontario | 1204 | 1134 | ||||||||
| France | 576 | 620 | 585 | 544 | 423 | 437 | 414 | 390 | 363 | 337 |
| The Netherlands | 927 | |||||||||
| Austria | 44 | 44 | 49 | 46 | 41 | 46 | 53 | 44 | 42 | 42 |
| Switzerland | 103 | 92 | 91 | 98 | 88 | 93 | 94 | 105 | 92 | 94 |
| Berlin | 38 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 26 | 31 | 69 | 48 | ||
| Munich | 33 | 31 | 18 | 26 | 19 | 6 | 28 | 24 | 31 | 23 |
| Cologne | 27 | 29 | 31 | 23 | 14 | 19 | 15 | 22 | ||
| Bonn | 20 | 14 | 20 | 21 | 15 | 23 | 19 | 48 | 23 | 28 |
| Leipzig | 26 | 10 | 26 | 23 | 37 | 33 | 31 | 85 | 47 | 26 |
| Rostock | 58 | 25 | 27 | 30 | 47 | 26 | 38 | 68 | 37 | 92 |
| Norway | 413 | 297 | 269 | 386 | 368 | 385 | 349 | 377 | 478 | 491 |
| Sweden | 577 | 506 | 582 | 572 | 742 | 900 | 713 | 651 | ||
| Spain | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | |
| Catalonia | 8 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
| Italy | 861 | 957 | 715 | 779 | ||||||
| Poland | 130 | 137 | 128 | 135 | 146 | 157 | 187 | 169 | 197 | 246 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1584 | 19 | 7.5 |
| 2024 | 1491 | 21 | 8.1 |
| 2023 | 2504 | 10 | 3.9 |
| 2022 | 1685 | 17 | 6.5 |
| 2021 | 957 | 36 | 13.1 |
| 2020 | 1200 | 27 | 10.1 |
| 2019 | 897 | 40 | 14.3 |
| 2018 | 761 | 51 | 17.7 |
| 2017 | 836 | 46 | 15.4 |
| 2016 | 881 | 42 | 13.7 |
| 2015 | 923 | 39 | 12.7 |
| 2014 | 779 | 50 | 16.3 |
| 2013 | 944 | 39 | 12.6 |
| 2012 | 916 | 40 | 12.4 |
| 2011 | 858 | 42 | 13.1 |
| 2010 | 1294 | 24 | 7.5 |
| 2009 | 982 | 33 | 10.5 |
| 2008 | 1034 | 29 | 9.2 |
| 2007 | 755 | 44 | 14.4 |
| 2006 | 976 | 29 | 9.7 |
| 2005 | 931 | 29 | 10.1 |
| 2004 | 1043 | 23 | 8.0 |
| 2003 | 965 | 25 | 9.0 |
| 2002 | 1066 | 20 | 7.5 |
| 2001 | 765 | 32 | 11.9 |
| 2000 | 1095 | 18 | 6.6 |
| 1999 | 900 | 24 | 8.5 |
| 1998 | 672 | 36 | 12.4 |
| 1997 | 658 | 37 | 12.6 |
| 1996 | 549 | 45 | 15.2 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Paula in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1968. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1968, at 585.1 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Paula per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1968 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Paula
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 23,026 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 4,225 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 2,783 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Paula.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Antonina.
1 in 1,408 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 4,473 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Paula.
1 in 3,578 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Paula.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Maria.
1 in 2,347 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paula.
Middle names for Paula
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Paula Grace
2-1 beats · initials PG
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Paula Olivia
2-4 beats · initials PO · Paula slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Paula slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Paula Sophia
2-3 beats · initials PS
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Paula Maria
2-3 beats · initials PM
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Paula Rose
2-1 beats · initials PR
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Paula Emily
2-3 beats · initials PE · Paula slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Paula slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Paula Julia
2-3 beats · initials PJ
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Paula Miriam
2-3 beats · initials PM
Changes the beat after Paula: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Paula
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,760 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 3,018 in Ireland
88% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
88% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
87% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 754 in Ireland
87% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 4,473 in Scotland
86% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 491 in Ireland
86% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
1 in 5,282 in Ireland
86% alike: moves with Paula across countries and decades.
Famous people named Paula
Paula Abdul, Paula Fernandes, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Paula Patton, Paula-Mae Weekes, Paula Hitler, Paula Hawkins and Paula Radcliffe.
Show all 8Show less
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American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality born 1962
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Brazilian singer-songwriter born 1984
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German expressionist painter (1876–1907)
-
American actress (born 1975)
-
President of Trinidad and Tobago born 1958
-
Younger sister of Adolf Hitler (1896–1960)
-
British writer born 1972
-
English long-distance runner born 1973
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Paula
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Paula?
Her best rank is No. 11 in Spain in 2024. She is in the published lists of 17 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Paula?
PAW-luh, with 2 syllables.
Is Paula getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 1 of 12 regions, falling in 5.
Which sister names go with Paula?
The deck's top five sisters for Paula: Diana, Tina, Claudia, Sandra and Amanda. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.