Pa
Feminine
Pa is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,338 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Pa is two letters, and the record does not say what language they are in. The name appears on American certificates from the late nineteen seventies, which is when families from the highlands of Laos began arriving in numbers, and it is a common element in Hmong women's names — but nothing in the register records that, and it cannot be assumed for any particular family.
How old is the name Pa?
Pa first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Pa alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 1,300 people named Pa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pa most popular?
Pa peaked in 1992, reaching #1523 nationally. See the whole 1992 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From A writing system devised in the nineteen fifties to Pa
Our story of Pa
Hmong was not a written language until the middle of the twentieth century. The alphabet in general use was worked out in the nineteen fifties, and it solves the problem of tone in a way no other romanisation does: instead of accents, it uses consonant letters at the end of a syllable that are not pronounced at all but say which of the eight tones the word carries. A final b means one tone, a final j another, a final s another again. To a reader who does not know the system the words look full of silent consonants; to a reader who does, every syllable states its own pitch. American forms strip the letters that look wrong, which removes the tone and, with it, the word.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Two letters carry almost no information, and the American record holds no language field. The name may be Hmong, in which case a meaning exists in that language; it may be a shortening of something longer; it may be initials. Without knowing the language, no meaning can be given, and guessing at one would be inventing.
How the name formed
- A writing system devised in the nineteen fifties
- Highland families arriving in America after 1975
- Short names entering the register in numbers
- Pa on certificates for both sexes
Pronouncing Pa
PAH
One syllable, with an open vowel. In the language it most likely comes from the pitch of that syllable is part of the word, and the American spelling records no pitch at all, which means the written form is incomplete rather than simply short.
Nicknames for Pa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1979
- Most girls named
- 1992103 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1523reached in 1992
- Change vs 2005
- −54.5%5 in 2006, from 11
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Pas among us
people named Pa are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Pa sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is two letters and can be written by a child on the first day of school.
- It works on the register for either child, which the record confirms.
- It is completely unambiguous to say once heard.
- American forms often reject two-letter names or pad them out.
- It is an ordinary English word for a father, which will be noticed.
- No meaning can be given, because the record does not say what language it is.
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Pa
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Pas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Pa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pa in 2025?
- Pa is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Pa with classmates?
- Pa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More P names
The most-given names starting with P, all years combined.
Patricia#1334 · Pamela#2239 · Phyllis#11932 · Peggy#8362 · Paula#853 · Pauline#2957 · Pearl#776 · Paige#346
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pa? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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