Pavel
Masculine · “small”
Pavel is how the Slavic languages say Paul, and Paul is a Latin word that means small. It is among the steadiest men's names from Prague to Vladivostok and has been for a thousand years.
How old is the name Pavel?
Pavel first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Pavel alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 1,500 people named Pavel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pavel most popular?
Pavel peaked in 2008, reaching #1792 nationally. Today it ranks #3181, 1,389 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Where it comes from
From paulus to Pavel
The story of Pavel
Paulus was an ordinary Roman surname that became one of the central names of Christianity, and it entered the Slavic world with Orthodox and Catholic mission alike. Russian, Czech, Bulgarian and Slovene all made Pavel of it; Polish made Paweł. The name has been in continuous use in all of them since, and it arrives in American records with families from every one of those countries.
Meaning
small, humble
From Latin paulus, little; it was a Roman family name before it was a Christian one, and the apostle used it in place of his Hebrew name Saul.
How the name formed
- paulus
- Paulus
- Pavel
Related forms: Paul · Paweł · Pablo · Павел
Pronouncing Pavel
PAH-vel
Two syllables, first stressed in Czech and Russian. English speakers often move the stress to the second, puh-VEL.
Nicknames for Pavel
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
- 1971
- Most boys named
- 200883 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1792reached in 2008
- Change vs 2024
- +2.8%37 in 2025, from 36
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.
Pavel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Paul in English — same name
- Paweł in Polish — same name
- Pablo in Spanish — same name
- Павел in Russian — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, Texas.
Pavels among us
people named Pavel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 46,164 born in 2025 was named Pavel
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 Stony test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Pavel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stony climbed just as high around 1963, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stony's path sketches the road Pavel is walking now.
Pavel 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 Pavel is headed
Pavel 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.
Pavel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Pavel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning and a documented record reaching back to Roman naming.
- Recognized across the whole Slavic world without change of spelling.
- Paul stands beside it in English, so the name is never entirely foreign.
- The stress moves in English, and both readings will follow him.
- Pasha needs explaining to anyone outside a Slavic-speaking family.
- It is a very common name in its home countries, so it is distinctive only in America.
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What they receive
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Pavel
Masculine · #3181 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Pavels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Pavel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pavel in 2025?
- Pavel ranks #3181 among US boy names in 2025, with 37 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Pavel?
- About 1 in every 46,164 US boys born in 2025 was named Pavel — 37 in all.
- Will my child share the name Pavel with classmates?
- Pavel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Pavel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Diamond#3181 · Walden#3181 · Tobin#3181 · Keion#3181 · Artem#3181 · Arsh#3181 · Kris#3181 · Esau#3181
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pavel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Pavel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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