Pauline
Feminine · “small”
Pauline is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 226,404 girls against 775 boys since 1880. See Pauline as a boy name
Pauline is the French feminine of one of the most consequential names in European history, and it is recorded here for boys as well as girls. The man behind it wrote the oldest Christian documents there are, and a silent film serial later attached the name to a very different idea.
How old is the name Pauline?
Pauline was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Pauline alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 54,500 people named Pauline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pauline most popular?
Pauline peaked in 1915, reaching #32 nationally. Today it ranks #2957, 2,925 places below that high. See the whole 1915 chart.
Where it comes from
From Paulus to Pauline
The story of Pauline
The letters of Paul were written a couple of decades after the crucifixion, which makes them older than any of the gospels, and they were written to be carried to a specific congregation and read out to it. That is why they argue with named people, answer questions we cannot see, and change tone halfway through: they are one side of a correspondence. A silent film serial two thousand years later gave the feminine form of the name to a heroine who ended every episode in immediate danger, and the phrase the perils of Pauline entered American English as shorthand for a serialized cliffhanger, which is roughly where most people's association with the name now sits.
Meaning
small
Paulus was a Roman family name meaning small, used as a cognomen, and the apostle took it alongside his Hebrew name. The reading is settled and the man himself seems to have found it useful.
How the name formed
- Paulus
- Paulina
- Pauline
Related forms: Pauline · Paulina · Paolina
Pronouncing Pauline
paw-LEEN
Two syllables with the weight on the second. PAW-leen, with the stress in front, is common in American speech.
Nicknames for Pauline
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 19187,222 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #32reached in 1915
- Change vs 2022
- −3.4%56 in 2025, from 58
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.
Pauline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Pauline in French — same name
- Paulina in German — same name
- Paolina in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Paulines among us
people named Pauline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 28,701 born in 2025 was named Pauline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Pauline 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 Pauline is headed
Pauline should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Pauline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Pauline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and can be given in one word.
- It works in English, French, German and Spanish households with only a shift of stress.
- Polly and Lina are both available as short forms and both are established names.
- In America it reads as belonging to an older generation, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to girls but is recorded for boys as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
- The meaning is small, which is a plain Roman fact and still takes some people aback.
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What they receive
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Pauline
Feminine · #2957 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Paulines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 54,500 people named Pauline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pauline in 2025?
- Pauline ranks #2957 among US girl names in 2025, with 56 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Pauline?
- About 1 in every 28,701 US girls born in 2025 was named Pauline — 56 in all.
- Will my child share the name Pauline with classmates?
- Pauline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Pauline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kalli#2957 · Alea#2957 · Odelia#2957 · Rahaf#2957 · Rosabella#2957 · Kenzlee#2957 · Klaire#2957 · Samarah#2957
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pauline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pauline and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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