Paula Abdul
There are approximately 1 people named Paula Abdul living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Paula with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Abdul. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
1
1 in 342,754,338
Named Paula
202K
Alive today
Named Abdul
2.3K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 202K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1963
Average age: 61
Estimated bearers: 2.3K
Rarity: Rare
Census rank: #14,950
Per 100K: 0.67
Top ancestry: Black (35.5%)
First name trend
Paula: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Paula. The peak year was 1963 with 10,178 births. The average person named Paula today is 61 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Abdul surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Abdul, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 35.5%.
- Black or African American35.5%
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.9%
- White22.0%
- Two or more races9.1%
- Hispanic or Latino4.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Paula has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0590% of the US population, based on 202,061 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Abdul appears at a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0007%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1 people with the full name Paula Abdul. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people with the surname Abdul
FAQ
Paula Abdul: questions and answers
How many people are named Paula Abdul?
We estimate approximately 1 people in the United States share the full name Paula Abdul. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0590%) with the surname frequency (0.67 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Paula Abdul?
We classify Paula Abdul as "Very Rare". About 1 in 342,754,338 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Paula a male or female name?
Paula is predominantly female. Out of 281,450 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Paula profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.