Paula

“Variant of Paul — Small” — Latin origin

Girl's name · #853 in the US (2025) · Retro

Paula has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #38 (1954) · 280,856 babies named Paula all-time · 1 in 5,000 girls born in 2025.

Around the world: #12 in Spain (2024) · #24 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #42 in Austria (2025) · #93 in Switzerland (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 22 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Paulas

Paula Abdul — American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality
Paula Fernandes — Brazilian singer-songwriter
Paula Modersohn-Becker — German expressionist painter (1876–1907)
Paula Patton — American actress
Paula Hitler — younger sister of Adolf Hitler (1896–1960)

In stories & tradition

Paula Brooks — Batman: The Brave and the Bold · Young Justice
Paula Caplan — Thunderball
Paula Cassidy — NCIS

What Paulas become

Among 2,347 notable people named Paula:

Entertainers appear 1.52× more often than among typical names — e.g. Paula Abdul, American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality.

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