Paulla
Feminine form of the masculine name Paul, derived from Latin Paulus, meaning "humble" or "little".
Name Census estimates that about 188 living Americans carry the first name Paulla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paulla today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paulla births was 1951 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paulla. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Paulla is about 65 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Paullas were born before 1971.
People living today
188
~ 1 in 1,823,161 Americans
Peak year
1951
14 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1991 SSA rank
#12,653
Tracked since 1942
Popularity
Paulla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paulla from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paulla by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Paulla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Paulla
The given name Paulla has its origins in the ancient Roman culture, where it was derived from the Latin word "paulus," meaning "small" or "humble." This name gained popularity during the early Christian era, particularly after the biblical figure of Paul the Apostle, whose original name was Saul.
In ancient Roman times, the name Paulla was often used as a feminine form of the male name Paulus. It was a common practice to assign diminutive versions of names to children, and Paulla was one such example. The name carried connotations of humility and modesty, reflecting the virtue of being small or humble in spirit.
Historically, the name Paulla is mentioned in various ancient texts and records. One notable reference is found in the writings of the Roman historian Pliny the Younger, who mentioned a woman named Paulla Arria, known for her stoic virtue and courage during the reign of the Emperor Claudius in the 1st century AD.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Paulla can be traced back to the 2nd century AD, with several inscriptions and epitaphs bearing the name. One famous bearer of the name was Paulla of Rome, a Roman noblewoman and friend of St. Jerome, who lived in the 4th century AD and was known for her piety and charity.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Paulla. One such figure was Paulla Barbieri (1399-1449), an Italian Benedictine nun and mystic who is venerated as a blessed in the Catholic Church. Another was Paulla Bragança (1548-1638), a Portuguese noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of literary and artistic endeavors.
In the realm of literature, Paulla Posseli (1624-1689) was a Swedish writer and poet who gained recognition for her religious and occasional poems. More recently, Paulla Ebron (1896-1981) was an American artist and painter known for her vibrant depictions of African American life and culture.
It is worth noting that the name Paulla, while rooted in ancient Roman origins, has also been adapted and adopted across various cultures and languages, sometimes with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation, reflecting the diverse influences and interpretations of this name over time.
People
Paulla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paulla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paulla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paulla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 188 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paulla going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,823,161 US residents.
Is Paulla a common name?
We classify Paulla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 262 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paulla most popular?
The single biggest year for Paulla was 1951, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paulla is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paulla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paulla in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.