Paul

Paul: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“small, humble”
Origin
Latin
Say it
PAWL · 1 syllable
Used for
Boys

From Latin Paulus meaning 'small' or 'humble'. A major biblical name through Saint Paul.

How popular is Paul?

2024397 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Paul in 20241,320

2024 rank#263 boys

Peak year1964

Total US babies since 18801,402,786

Paul is steady now but far below its 1964 peak.

Names like Paul

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Pablosmall or humble · Spanish
  • Paulasmall, humble · Latin
  • Paulettesmall, humble · French
  • Paulinesmall · Latin
  • Paulosmall; humble · Portuguese
  • Lucasfrom Lucania · Latin
  • Leolion · Latin
  • Julianyouthful, downy-bearded · Latin

Paul questions

What does the name Paul mean?

Paul means "small, humble". It comes from Latin. From Latin Paulus meaning 'small' or 'humble'. A major biblical name through Saint Paul.

Is Paul a boy or girl name?

Paul is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Paul?

1,320 US babies were named Paul in 2024. Its peak year was 1964.

How do you pronounce Paul?

Paul is usually pronounced PAWL.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.