Paulita
Feminine · “small”
Paul did not change his name. The story that Saul became Paul at his conversion is one of the most durable misreadings in the New Testament — the text never says it, the change appears halfway through the book with no comment, and the plain explanation is that he had two names all along, as a Jew with Roman citizenship would.
How old is the name Paulita?
Paulita first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Paulita alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 600 people named Paulita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Paulita most popular?
Paulita peaked in 1888, reaching #1276 nationally. See the whole 1888 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Latin word meaning small used as a family name to Paulita
The story of Paulita
Roman citizens had a formal Latin name and Jews in the diaspora commonly had a Hebrew one as well; using one in the synagogue and the other in the wider world was ordinary practice and needed no explanation to anybody at the time. The text switches from the Hebrew name to the Latin one at the point where the story turns towards the Roman world, which is a narrative decision rather than a biographical one. The conversion story got attached later, and it is now so firmly attached that it survives being contradicted by the text on the same page.
Meaning
small
The Latin word means small or slight, and it was an ordinary Roman family name of the kind built on a physical description. The Spanish diminutive ending on this version makes the name mean, quite literally, little small one. Spanish is entirely comfortable with that; English would find it hard to say without smiling.
How the name formed
- a Latin word meaning small used as a family name
- a Jewish Roman citizen carries it alongside a Hebrew name
- Paul spreads across Christian Europe
- Spanish adds its diminutive ending
- Paulita appears in American records before 1890
Related forms: Paulita · Paolina · Paulette
Pronouncing Paulita
pow-LEE-tah
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The first syllable is the Spanish au, which is closer to ow than to the English aw.
Nicknames for Paulita
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
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 192726 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1276reached in 1888
- Change vs 1991
- −37.5%5 in 2015, from 8
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.
Paulita in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Paulita in Spanish — same name
- Paolina in Italian — same name
- Paulette in French — same name
Paulitas among us
people named Paulita 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
Paulita 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
- Lita and Paula are both available and both are complete names.
- It is read correctly at sight by any Spanish speaker.
- The meaning is short, clear and rather charming.
- The literal sense is little small one, which a curious child will enjoy or object to.
- English speakers will produce PAWL-ita rather than the Spanish vowel.
- It belongs to the oldest layer of the American record.
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What they receive
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Paulita
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Paulitas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Paulita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Paulita in 2025?
- Paulita is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Paulita with classmates?
- Paulita 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 Paulita? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Paulita and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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