ninan.org

Paula

Girls' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~229,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#853 among girls
Births in 2025
318 281,769 since 1880
Typical age
63 years, median

Paula popularity over time

Paula rank by birth year, 1880–2025Paula ranked #580 in 1880 and #853 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #38, in 1954.#100#1,000#853best #38 in 195418901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Paula was used most in 1963, when 10,183 babies were given the name. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. It has held a top-100 place in 32 separate years.

As of 2025 the name sits at #853, with 318 births that year. Year on year the rank dropped by 101.

Babies named Paula per yearPeaks at 10,183 births in 1963.10,183 in 1963018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Paula?

An estimated 229,200 living Americans are called Paula. SSA has recorded 281,769 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Paula?

Half of living Paulas are older than 63, half younger. The 1960s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Paula a late 20th-century name.

Your Paula

Ages of living people named PaulaHalf of living Paulas are older than 63 and half younger.median 63020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Paula is most common

Paula is 2.7× as common in Arizona as it is nationally. Texas, Florida and California follow.

Where Paula is used more than average4 states use the name Paula more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.6× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: 2.7× the national rateAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 2.5× the national rateTXFlorida: 2.1× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Paula is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Arizona 170 2.7×
Texas 850 2.5×
Florida 389 2.1×
California 625 1.6×

Paula in England and Wales

ONS recorded 19 births named Paula in 2025, ranking it #1,584. That is 30% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Paula comes from

Borrowed from Latin Paula, feminine form of Paulus (“Paul”).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Paula

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Paula Abdul American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality 1962 63
Paula Fernandes Brazilian singer-songwriter 1984 55
Paula Modersohn-Becker German expressionist painter 1876–1907 47
Paula Patton American actress 1975 45
Paula Hitler younger sister of Adolf Hitler 1896–1960 41
Paula Radcliffe English long-distance runner 1973 38
Paula Pareto Argentinian judoka and physician 1986 36
Paula Seling Romanian singer, celebrity 1978 36
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 1,983 in 1942 to 3,059 in 1943 — 1.5 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Paula

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/paula.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).