Paul

“Small” — Latin origin

Boy's name · #262 in the US (2025) · Timeless

Paul has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #12 (1916) · 1,398,293 babies named Paul all-time · 1 in 1,300 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: #2 in Austria (2025) · #8 in Germany (2025) · #23 in France (2025) · #70 in Switzerland (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 49 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Pauls

Paul the Apostle — Early Christian apostle and missionary (c. AD 5 – c. 64/65)
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 VI — pope of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978 (1897–1978)

Among 30,139 notable people named Paul:

Lawyers & judges appear 1.46× more often than among typical names — e.g. Paul Reynaud, French politician and lawyer (1878-1966).

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.