Top Baby Names

Origin and Meaning of First Names.

Paul

Gender

Male

Origin

Latin
Little. Biblical apostle and evangelist Pauls letters to early Christians comprise many New Testament books.
Little
English
French

Syllables

1

Themes

  • Biblical
  • Surname

Alternate Spellings and Variants of Paul

Pronunciation

paul

Famous People

Actor Paul Rudd, Artist Paul Cezanne, Actor Paul Newman, Musician Paul McCartney, Musician Paul Simon, Actor Paul Walker, Actor Paul Wesley

Celebrity Babies

Son of Art Carney

Popularity in the USA

  • Boys: peak in 1957 (rank #18, 26,984 births); most recent 2025 (rank #262, 1,316 births)
  • Girls: peak in 1928 (rank #634, 123 births); most recent 2006 (rank #15138, 6 births)
Births by year in the USA
YearBoysGirls
20251,316–
20241,320–
20231,359–
20221,330–
20211,384–
20201,401–
20191,512–
20181,634–
20171,697–
20161,940–

Top girl names · Top boy names in the USA (2025)

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), national baby names data (public domain). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the SSA. Data years: 1880 to 2025. Original data

Popularity in England and Wales

  • Boys: peak in 1996 (rank #72, 898 births); most recent 2025 (rank #602, 64 births)
Births by year in England and Wales
YearBoys
202564
202465
202386
202284
202181
2020111
2019121
2018133
2017131
2016159

Top girl names · Top boy names in England and Wales (2025)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1996 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in France

  • Boys: peak in 1920 (rank #12, 8,773 births); most recent 2023 (rank #25, 1,951 births)
  • Girls: peak in 1950 (rank #895, 6 births); most recent 2005 (rank #4906, 3 births)
Births by year in France
YearBoysGirls
20231,951–
20222,200–
20212,291–
20202,473–
20192,839–
20182,994–
20173,153–
20163,365–
20153,656–
20143,700–

Top girl names · Top boy names in France (2023)

Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (last updated 8 July 2024), used under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0. Changes: names are shown in title case, and spellings that differ only by accents are counted together. Data years: 1900 to 2023. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Ireland

  • Boys: peak in 1964 (rank #4, 1,814 births); most recent 2025 (rank #276, 15 births)
Births by year in Ireland
YearBoys
202515
202420
202321
202225
202136
202034
201936
201842
201735
201635

Top girl names · Top boy names in Ireland (2025)

Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland, Irish Babies' Names (tables VSA50 and VSA60), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: spellings that differ only by accents (for example Rian and Rían) are counted together. Data years: 1964 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Scotland

  • Boys: peak in 1974 (rank #3, 1,260 births); most recent 2025 (rank #316, 11 births)
Births by year in Scotland
YearBoys
202511
202413
202313
202220
202119
202020
201922
201826
201729
201637

Top girl names · Top boy names in Scotland (2025)

Source: National Records of Scotland (NRS), Babies' First Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1974 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in Northern Ireland

  • Boys: peak in 1997 (rank #27, 123 births); most recent 2025 (rank #270, 6 births)
Births by year in Northern Ireland
YearBoys
20256
20246
20237
20224
202111
20209
201910
201816
201714
201616

Top girl names · Top boy names in Northern Ireland (2025)

Source: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Baby Names. © Crown copyright. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data years: 1997 to 2025. Original data · Licence

Popularity in British Columbia (Canada)

  • Boys: peak in 1958 (rank #18, 242 births); most recent 2023 (rank #318, 10 births)
Births by year in British Columbia (Canada)
YearBoys
202310
20229
20217
202010
201918
201810
201715
20167
201516
201414

Top girl names · Top boy names in British Columbia (Canada) (2023)

Source: British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Most popular baby names for the past 100 years. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Changes: names are shown in title case. Data years: 1924 to 2023. Original data · Licence