Pola
A feminine given name of Polish origin meaning "small meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 371 living Americans carry the first name Pola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pola today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pola births was 1926 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pola. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Pola with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
371
~ 1 in 923,866 Americans
Peak year
1926
25 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,935
Tracked since 1911
Census
Pola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 755 people with the first name Pola, which placed it at #15,282 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,282
National first-name rank
People counted
755
755 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pola is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Pola described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Pola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.3% · 440
- Hispanic or Latino31.9% · 241
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 40
- Black or African American2.4% · 18
- Two or more races1.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Popularity
Pola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pola from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 147 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Pola remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pola 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 Pola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Polas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Pola, while California, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Pola
The name Pola is a feminine given name with roots dating back to ancient times. Its origins can be traced to the Latin word "Paulus," which means "small" or "humble." The name was particularly popular in ancient Rome and was often given to girls born into noble families.
In the early days of Christianity, Pola gained significance as it was the name of a 3rd-century Roman martyr, Saint Pola, who was persecuted for her faith. Her story and veneration contributed to the spread of the name across Europe, particularly in regions with strong Catholic traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pola can be found in the writings of the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius, who mentioned a woman named Pola in his work "The Secret History." This suggests that the name was already in use during the Byzantine era.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Pola. One of the most famous was Pola Negri (1897-1987), a Polish-born actress who became a star of the silent film era in Hollywood. Her career spanned from the 1910s to the 1960s, and she was renowned for her roles in films such as "Madame DuBarry" and "Hotel Imperial."
Another well-known Pola was Pola Litvinova (1939-2022), a Russian actress and writer who gained prominence in the Soviet Union and later in Russia. She appeared in numerous films and television shows and was also an accomplished author, publishing several books.
In the world of sports, Pola Negri (1894-1964) was a Polish figure skater who competed in the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. She was one of the first female figure skaters to represent Poland in the Olympics.
The name Pola also has literary connections. Pola Gauguin (1883-1961) was the daughter of the renowned French artist Paul Gauguin. She wrote several memoirs and biographies about her father, providing valuable insights into his life and work.
In the realm of classical music, Pola Baytelman (1931-2021) was a Polish-born American pianist and composer. She was known for her interpretations of works by Chopin and Beethoven and also composed her own pieces.
While the name Pola has been more commonly used in certain regions and cultures throughout history, it has transcended linguistic and geographical boundaries, making it a name with a rich and diverse heritage.
People
Pola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pola 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
Pola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 371 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pola 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 923,866 US residents.
Is Pola a common name?
We classify Pola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 672 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pola most popular?
The single biggest year for Pola was 1926, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pola is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 755 people with the name Pola, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,282 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Pola in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Pola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pola leans strongly female. 664 people counted with this name were female (87.6%), compared with 94 male bearers (12.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Pola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pola is White at 58.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Pola most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.3% (440 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Pola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pola 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.
Is Pola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pola in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Pola can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Pola?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.