first name
PAULA
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 256,421 people named Paula, 74.2% reported their origin as White, 14.6% as Hispanic or Latino and 7.2% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Paula peaked in 1963, when 10,183 babies got the name.
At least 281,769 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Paula by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #91. The largest share of babies named Paula, 53.9%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Paula is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Paula has been most common in Rhode Island (2.3×), Massachusetts (2×), and Maine (1.5×), and least common in Nevada (0.49×).
276,101 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Paula
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Paula, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Paula ranks #15,422 of 156,621, with 1,831 people. See Paula as a last name
Compare
🔎 PAULA 🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 1,178 Americans More common than 57.6% of us Peaked in 1963 with 10,183 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/paula/