Paul
/ˈpɔːl/
The name Paul comes from the Latin Paulus, an ancient Roman cognomen meaning “small, humble, little.” The word is a regular Latin adjective used as a nickname and later as a family name by the gens Aemilia and other Roman clans.
It derives from a Proto-Italic *pawelos, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *peh2u-, “few, small,” which also yielded the Latin paucus and the English few.
Among the notable Roman bearers was Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, the consul who defeated Perseus of Macedon at Pydna in 168 BCE.
What the name Paul means
The name’s Christian prominence rests on Saint Paul the Apostle (c. 5-67), born Saul of Tarsus, a Hellenized Jew and Roman citizen whose conversion on the road to Damascus around 34 transformed him into the most prolific author of the New Testament.
His thirteen canonical epistles, beginning with Romans, shaped Christian theology for 2 millennia.
His martyrdom in Rome under Nero, traditionally dated to 67, is commemorated with that of Saint Peter on June 29. 6 popes have taken the name Paul, most recently Paul VI (1963-1978).
Literary and cultural bearers fill every century. Paul Verlaine and Paul Valéry shaped French symbolist poetry; Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin shaped post-impressionist painting; Paul Klee shaped the Bauhaus.
Paul Revere’s ride in 1775, Paul Bunyan’s folkloric axe, and Paul Newman’s blue-eyed stardom anchor the name in American mythology. Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles made the name a fixture of twentieth-century popular music from 1960 onward.
U.S. Social Security records place Paul in the top 20 continuously from 1880 through 1968, peaking at rank 12 in 1930. More than 1.6 million American boys received the name in the twentieth century.
It has gently declined since the 1970s, settling around rank 250 in recent years, but has never dropped out of the top 500.
Contemporary bearers include actor Paul Rudd, chef Paul Prudhomme, senator Rand Paul, and novelist Paul Auster (1947-2024). Variants include the French Paul, Italian Paolo, Spanish Pablo, German Paul, and Russian Pavel.
US popularity over time
Numerology and symbolism
Based on Pythagorean numerology — a traditional system linking name letters to numbers. Presented for cultural interest.
Famous people named Paul
Paul - similar names
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