Paul

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Pablo in AR Argentina, ES Spain, MX Mexico and 6 more, Павел in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, TR Türkiye, Paulo in BR Brazil, PT Portugal and Paweł in PL Poland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 6 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Paul is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Hindi given name1.1M records spelled Paul69 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Philippines

  Languages: Hindi, Bangla, Urdu

  Also written Poole, পল, Polu, Pulu, Paul'

• a separate given name648K records spelled Paul5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Paúl, Paül

• Swahili given name394K records spelled Paul5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Kenya, United States, Nigeria, United Kingdom

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho, Kinyarwanda

  Also written Paul', Paúl

• a separate given name133K records spelled Paul19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Peru

  Also written Paúl, Påül, Pãül, Påul, Päûl

• Indonesian given name86K records spelled Paul19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay, Filipino

  Also written Paúl, Paul', Pavlos, 'Paul, Påūl

• Thai given name41K records spelled Paul38 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, United Kingdom, Laos

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written พอล, Phon, พือลี, พอลี, Paul'

156 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Paul is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Paul is a classic name of Latin origin meaning 'small' or 'humble'. It is famously associated with the Apostle Paul, a pivotal figure in early Christianity, known for his intellect, missionary zeal, and profound writings that form a large part of the New Testament. The name carries connotations of wisdom, resilience, and spiritual depth.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Saul is from the Hebrew שָׁאוּל (Sha'ûl), meaning 'asked for' or 'prayed for'. The name Paul is from the Latin surname Paulus, meaning 'small' or 'humble'. It was a common practice for Jews in the Roman Empire to have both a Hebrew and a Greco-Roman name.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In French, From Latin Paulus ‘small’; used in the text as a baptismal name turned into patronymic surnames.

  as a name·Tên Họ Người Việt Nam

• In English, Latin paulus, ‘little’; Roman name of Saul, one of the foremost early Christians.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In French, From Latin Paulus ‘small, humble’; saint’s day listed twice (25 Jan., 29 Jun.)

  as a name·Tên Họ Người Việt Nam

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Paulus Ib. 700ITnot in their usual namepope (700-767)
• Paul IIb. 1417ITpope of the Catholic Church from 1464 to 1471
• Paul Morphyb. 1837USUS chess player (1837–1884)
• Paul Sabatierb. 1854FRFrench chemist (1854–1941)
• Roger Martin du Gardb. 1881FRnot in their usual nameFrench writer (1881–1958)
• Paul Anthony Samuelsonb. 1915USAmerican economist (1915–2009)
• Paul Bergb. 1926USAmerican biochemist, Professor emeritus at Stanford University & Nobel laureate in Chemistry (1926–2023)
• Paul Krugmanb. 1953USAmerican economist (born 1953)
• Paul Kagameb. 1957RWPresident of Rwanda since 2000 (born 1957)
• Paul Pogbab. 1993FRFrench footballer (born 1993)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,365 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Paul?

We estimate roughly 3.9 million people bear Paul (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Paul have the most bearers?

Paul is most frequently recorded in Russia, where it is most often spelled павел.

Where is Paul most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Paul is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 27 people — even though Russia holds more of our records for it.

How common is Paul compared with other names?

In Russia, Paul is the 34th most common given name of 418,751 given names recorded there.

Is Paul a male or female name?

Paul is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Paul mean?

Recorded meaning: from the male personal name Paul, from Latin Paulus, literally ‘small’.