Girl · #715 in 2026

Paula

Name: Popularity of the name Paula in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Paula, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Paula is a common female given name. It is used in German, English, Estonian, Finnish, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Croatian and Greek languages. In Greek it is Polina.

Current Rank

#715

Peak Rank

#38 (1963)

Total Babies

281K

5-Yr Trend

+12%

1880

First Year

2026

Last Year

1963

Peak Year

#38

Peak Rank

281K

Total Count

147

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Paula

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Paula

Paula first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 9 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1963, when 10,151 Paulas were born — ranking #42 that year. As of 2026, Paula ranks #715 for baby girls with 396 births, gradually rising (+12%). In total, more than 281K Paulas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Paula

Phonetically similar names — useful when Paula is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Paola
Pala
Polla
Pauly
Pella
Paulo
Pilla
Paulie
Pola
Pauli
Pula
Pauley

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Paula

What does the name Paula mean?

How popular is Paula in 2026?

In 2026, Paula ranks #715 among girls' names in the U.S., with 396 babies given the name that year.

When was Paula most popular?

Paula reached its peak popularity in 1963, ranking #38 that year with 10,151 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Paula most popular?

Paula has historically been most popular in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Louisiana. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Paula.

Is Paula a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Paula is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Paula?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Paula include Stella, Katie, Geraldine. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Paula

Paula is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 281K births in the dataset. Paula's peak popularity came in 1963 when it ranked #38. Use the chart and map above to compare Paula's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.