Meaning of the namePaula
- Female
- Latin origin
- Pau-la
Paula is a female name of Latin origin, the feminine form of Paulus, a Latin word meaning 'small'.
- People (2022)
- 212,186
- Rank in Brazil
- #152
- Median age
- 33 years
- 2010 Census
- 222,577
- people
Paula in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Paula, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1980s (69,788 people).
210,188 women 1,998 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Paula is most common
States with the highest share of people named Paula in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.137%
- Rio de Janeiro 0.128%
- Distrito Federal 0.125%
- Pará 0.120%
- São Paulo 0.118%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 52,424 | 0.118% |
| Minas Gerais | 21,448 | 0.104% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 20,595 | 0.128% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 14,892 | 0.137% |
| Paraná | 10,938 | 0.096% |
| Bahia | 10,715 | 0.076% |
| Pará | 9,713 | 0.120% |
| Pernambuco | 9,412 | 0.104% |
| Santa Catarina | 7,365 | 0.097% |
| Goiás | 7,229 | 0.102% |
| Ceará | 6,344 | 0.072% |
| Maranhão | 5,797 | 0.086% |
| Amazonas | 4,412 | 0.112% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 3,562 | 0.108% |
| Distrito Federal | 3,519 | 0.125% |
| Paraíba | 3,353 | 0.084% |
| Mato Grosso | 3,346 | 0.092% |
| Espírito Santo | 3,316 | 0.087% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 2,719 | 0.099% |
| Alagoas | 2,402 | 0.077% |
| Piauí | 2,218 | 0.068% |
| Sergipe | 1,983 | 0.090% |
| Rondônia | 1,297 | 0.082% |
| Tocantins | 1,066 | 0.071% |
| Amapá | 849 | 0.116% |
| Acre | 649 | 0.078% |
| Roraima | 623 | 0.098% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Paula
Wiktionary records Paula as a learned borrowing from Latin Paula, feminine of Paulus. Paulus comes from the Latin word paulus, 'small', and was a cognomen of the Roman Aemilian clan. Behind the Name confirms Paula as the feminine of Paulus. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 212,186 people named Paula, with a median age of 33. The name is almost always female and, proportionally, most common in Rio Grande do Sul.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Paula · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Wiktionary: Paulus · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Behind the Name: Paula · behindthename.com · origin
Questions about the name Paula
What does the name Paula mean?
Paula means “feminine form of Paulus, 'small'”, according to Wiktionary.
How many people are named Paula in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 212,186 people with the first name Paula, which ranks it number 152 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1980s.
Is Paula a boy's or a girl's name?
Paula is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 210,188 women and 1,998 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Paula?
Paula is a name of Latin origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Paula most common?
Proportionally, in Rio Grande do Sul: 0.137% of the state's population is named Paula (14,892 people), according to the 2022 Census.
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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Paula with a source. See the methodology.