Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Paula?
Births per year, rank history and how many Paulas are alive today.
Paula (female), once a common girls' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 19 in 2025, ranked 1584th. The name peaked in 1964, when around 1,800 babies were given the name, the 33rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1964; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 22,000 babies have been named Paula in England and Wales since 1964. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Paula you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old. Half of all Paulas born in England and Wales are between 51 and 64, and there are at least 33,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 10% chance that at least one of them will be called Paula.
How many babies are named Paula each year?
Where does Paula rank among girls' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Paula most popular?
Paula peaked in 1964, when around 1,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Paula?
At least 33,000 people named Paula born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Paula?
Most living Paulas are between 51 and 64; the most common age is about 62.
Is Paula becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak.