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BabyNames
Girl name#159 of girl names

Paula

Pronounced P AO1 L AH0 (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1963
  • 145 years in use
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How popular is Paula?

Paula is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 282,902 children — the 159th most common girls' name on record.

Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1963, when 10,165 children were given it.

05,00010,00015,00020,00018901920195019802010
1963Girls: 10,165Boys: 27

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
P AO1 L AH0
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Paula

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Paula

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Paula?
Paula ranks 159th among girls' names in US records, with 282,902 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 3,954.
Is Paula a unisex name?
No. Paula is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Paula most popular?
1963, when 10,165 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.