Paula

Paula meaning

Paula is a Christian girl's name of Latin origin.

Little, small (feminine of Latin Paulus, Paul)

Also used to mean: humble

Paula is the Latin feminine of Paulus, Paul, which Strong's Concordance describes as a name of Latin origin meaning 'little'. Christians came to read the smallness as humility, so name lists give Paula as 'small' or 'humble'. Its saint is Paula of Rome (about 347–404), a rich widow who became a disciple of St Jerome, followed him to Bethlehem, and founded and led a community of women there while he worked on his Latin translation of the Bible. In India Paula is used in Christian families as a simpler alternative to Pauline.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, G3972 · entry Paulos · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's G3972, Paulos (Bible Hub) · Wikipedia, Paula of Rome

Famous namesakes

• St Paula of Rome, founder of a convent in Bethlehem

Popularity abroad

• #855 United States, girls 2025 (down 101 from 754 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Paula · Pola

Related names

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