Paul Boy

How popular is Paul?

#262 boy name in 2025

1,316 baby boys were named Paul in the US in 2025, making it the 262nd most popular boy name.

Compare with other names
827,821living people named Paul (est.)
60median age of people named Paul
1,404,135babies named Paul since 1880
1 in 2,519US babies born in 2025

Paul popularity over time

015,00030,000 18801900192019401960198020002020

Boys Girls

Rank in 2025#262 for boys
Babies in 20251,316 boys
10-year trendFalling (-35% babies vs 2015)
Earlier ranks#199 in 2015, #252 in 2020
Peak year1957 (27,012 boys)
Highest rank#12 in 1916 (3 years at that rank)
First recorded1880
Boys vs girls (last 10 years)100% boys, 0% girls
Chance a classmate shares it0.9% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025

Where Paul is most popular

Babies named Paul per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.

  1. Alaska: 2.8 per 1,000 (33 boys)
  2. Montana: 1.6 per 1,000 (29 boys)
  3. North Dakota: 1.4 per 1,000 (24 boys)
  4. Connecticut: 1.4 per 1,000 (94 boys)
  5. District of Columbia: 1.2 per 1,000 (18 boys)

Paul by decade

DecadeBaby boysBest rank
1880s4,196#35
1890s8,181#20
1900s12,636#17
1910s78,216#12
1920s132,384#13
1930s125,774#12
1940s183,364#17
1950s253,202#15
1960s242,503#16
1970s136,390#23
1980s104,397#35
1990s58,931#49
2000s30,964#100
2010s19,030#177
2020s8,125#252

Boy names about as popular as Paul

Questions

Is Paul a boy or girl name?
Paul is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Paul were boys.
How popular is the name Paul?
1,316 baby boys were named Paul in the US in 2025, making it the 262nd most popular boy name.
When was Paul most popular?
Paul peaked in 1957, when 27,012 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #12, held for 3 years starting in 1916.
How many people are named Paul?
1,404,135 babies have been named Paul in the US since 1880. We estimate about 827,821 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 60.
Where is Paul most popular?
From 2021 to 2025, Paul was most common in Alaska, at 2.8 of every 1,000 boys born there.

Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.