Paulina
Feminine · “small”
Paulina is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 20,137 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Paulina is the Latin feminine of Paulinus, a Roman name built from Paulus, and it has been in continuous use for something close to two thousand years. Shakespeare gave it to the fiercely loyal Paulina of The Winter's Tale, and the same four syllables are still said daily in Polish, Spanish and Portuguese. It is a name that ends softly and can be leaned on hard in the middle.
How old is the name Paulina?
Paulina was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Paulina alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 18,500 people named Paulina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Paulina most popular?
Paulina peaked in 2002, reaching #365 nationally. Today it ranks #783, 418 places below that high. See the whole 2002 chart.
Paulina appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Paulus to Paulina
The story of Paulina
The Roman cognomen Paulus meant simply 'small', and from it Latin formed Paulinus and its feminine Paulina, both well attested in the imperial period. Christianity carried the family of names far past Rome, and Paulina settled into the calendars and parish records of Catholic Europe — Poland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the German lands — each in its own accent. In English, the shorter French-styled Pauline became the everyday form for a long stretch, while Paulina kept its full Latin shape. In the United States it has been recorded since the earliest years of national name-keeping, arriving repeatedly with Polish and Spanish-speaking families, which is part of why it is strongest today in Texas, California and Florida.
Meaning
small, or humble
From Latin paulus, 'small'. Paulinus was a Roman derivative of the family name Paulus, and Paulina is its feminine form.
How the name formed
- Paulus
- Paulinus
- Paulina
- Pauline
Related forms: Paulina · Paulina · Pauline · Paolina · Paulina · Polina
Pronouncing Paulina
pow-LEE-nah
That is the Spanish and Polish reading, and the most common one in the US. English speakers who meet it cold sometimes say paw-LYE-nuh, on the pattern of Carolina. Both are heard; whichever you choose, expect to supply it now and then.
Nicknames for Paulina
High
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 2004738 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #365reached in 2002
- Change vs 2022
- −2.8%346 in 2025, from 356
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.
Paulina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Paulina in Spanish — same name
- Paulina in Polish — same name
- Pauline in French — related form
- Paolina in Italian — same name
- Paulina in German — same name
- Polina in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Paulinas among us
people named Paulina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,645 born in 2025 was named Paulina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Julianne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Paulina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Julianne climbed just as high around 1985, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Julianne's path sketches the road Paulina is walking now.
Paulina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Paulina is headed
Paulina should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Paulina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Paulina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented Latin line — Paulus to Paulinus to Paulina — that has never gone out of use.
- Spelled the same way in Spanish, Polish, German and Portuguese, so it needs no adaptation across those languages.
- Several established short forms already in real use: Pau, Lina, Polly, Paulita.
- Every letter is where an English speaker would expect it, so the spelling survives being said aloud over the phone.
- Two pronunciations circulate — pow-LEE-nah and paw-LYE-nuh — and which one people reach for depends on the language they came in through. Deciding early on the family version saves a lifetime of small corrections.
- It sits close to Pauline, Paulena, Polina and Paolina, and any of those may come back on forms and email lists.
- A child with this name is unlikely to share it with a classmate. That means no last-initial routine, and also that it will need repeating on first meeting.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Paulina to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Paulina
Feminine · #783 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Paulinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 18,500 people named Paulina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Paulina in 2025?
- Paulina ranks #783 among US girl names in 2025, with 346 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Paulina?
- About 1 in every 4,645 US girls born in 2025 was named Paulina — 346 in all.
- Will my child share the name Paulina with classmates?
- Paulina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Paulina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Janiyah#783 · Royalty#782 · Journi#785 · Belen#785 · Ocean#785 · Klarity#788 · Emiliana#788 · Ruthie#778
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Paulina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Paulina and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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