girl's name
Pauline
paw-LEEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 393,232
France
#304
2025 births
Pauline is a girl's name from the Latin for small or humble, the feminine of Paul. It peaked in 1918 and our data marks it stable, with France its strongest market by a wide margin at 304th, well ahead of either English-speaking country.
- Pauline is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1918, when 7,238 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 59,203 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Pauline over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,594 |
| 1890s | 6,652 |
| 1900s | 13,339 |
| 1910s | 50,210 |
| 1920s | 64,301 |
| 1930s | 33,904 |
| 1940s | 21,999 |
| 1950s | 14,485 |
| 1960s | 8,958 |
| 1970s | 4,011 |
| 1980s | 2,486 |
| 1990s | 2,186 |
| 2000s | 1,097 |
| 2010s | 633 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 324 |
What Pauline means
Pauline means small, or humble. The Latin adjective describes physical smallness, and the apostle Paul appears to have adopted it as a deliberate statement of humility rather than inheriting it as a family name.
Where Pauline comes from
Pauline is the French feminine of Paul, from the Latin paulus, small or little. The apostle was born Saul and took Paul after his conversion — a Roman cognomen he was entitled to as a citizen, but one whose meaning made it a statement: he describes himself in his letters as the least of the apostles. Pauline as a given name is a French formation and reached English in the nineteenth century. Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, was sculpted by Canova as a reclining Venus in 1808, a work her husband kept locked away from visitors.
Pauline in use
Pauline peaked in 1918, when 7,238 babies were registered in its largest market, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 304th in France on 180 births, 2994th in the United States on 56 and 4836th in England and Wales, across 393,232 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. France gives it a far stronger position than either English-speaking market.
How popular is Pauline?
In 2025, Pauline was given to 56 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Pauline is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Pauline
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Pauline also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Pauline over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Pauline
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Pauline in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Bulgarian
- Polina
- Catalan
- Paulina
- Danish
- Paulina
- Finnish
- Paulina
- Galician
- Paula
- German
- Paula
- Italian
- Paolina
- Latvian
- Paula
- Moldovan
- Polina
- Russian
- Polina
- Swedish
- Paula
- Ukrainian
- Polina
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Pavlina
Sibling names for Pauline
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Pauline — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Pauline
What does the name Pauline mean?
Small or humble, from the Latin paulus — the feminine of Paul.
Why did Saul become Paul?
Paul was a Roman cognomen he was entitled to as a citizen, and its meaning of small suited his description of himself as the least of the apostles.
Is Pauline a French name?
The formation is French, and France remains its strongest market at 304th.
How popular is Pauline?
304th in France, and our data marks it stable.
Is Pauline a girl's or a boy's name?
Pauline is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Pauline?
Pauline has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Pauline?
Pauline is usually shortened to Paulie.
Is Pauline a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Pauline currently ranks #304 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.