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Paul Name Popularity

    

Charts | Table | About | By Year

How popular is Paul?

In 2018 the somewhat popular name Paul, ranked the 234th Most Popular Boys Name in the United States.

Presently one of the top 250 most popular, Paul has been a top 250 placer since the Social Security Administration began keeping records in 1880.

It reached its highest popularity RANKING of #12 for the first time in 1916 and as recently as 1931.

Nonetheless, the name was given to the greatest number of children in 1957 with 26,985 occurrences.

The least amount of newborns dubbed Paul in any given year was 291 in 1881.

Approximately during the years 1889-1895, 1897-1900, 1901-1921, 1922-1925, 1939-1947, and 1950-1954, the name Paul took a definitive turn upwards in popularity whereas clearly downward trends happened around 1964-1974, 1980-1985, 1988-2002, 2004-2010, and 2014-2017.

Paul's popularity has steadily decreased for some time. In recent years, continuing the trend, the number of babies given the name Paul has dropped.

What does the future hold for the popularity of Paul?

Currently, the name is at a very low point when compared to its most popular year.

The name Paul is favored by many parents but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, Paul is much less frequently used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

 
Mouse over or Click for Percentages.
   Paul (Girl)Paul (Boy)
Year %No. of Babies Given NamePopul. RankNo. of Babies Given NamePopul. Rank
2018 < 5 -- 1,625 234
2017 < 5 -- 1,690 225
2016 < 5 -- 1,935 206
2015 < 5 -- 2,025 199
2014 < 5 -- 2,003 201
2013 < 5 -- 2,034 198
2012 < 5 -- 1,952 190
2011 < 5 -- 2,073 186
2010 < 5 -- 2,126 177
2009 < 5 -- 2,425 160
2008 < 5 -- 2,554 154
2007 < 5 -- 2,765 147
2006 6 16,618 3,025 132
2005 5 18,466 3,141 130
2004 9 11,391 3,184 127
2003 7 13,470 3,250 123
2002 < 5 -- 3,259 118
2001 7 13,128 3,515 109
2000 9 10,523 3,792 100
1999 6 13,972 4,020 94
1998 11 8,433 4,320 89
1997 14 6,726 4,750 79
1996 13 7,030 4,879 78
1995 12 7,393 5,414 71
1994 10 8,612 5,798 64
1993 9 9,313 6,479 56
1992 15 6,216 6,999 55
1991 25 4,170 7,677 53
1990 31 3,491 8,579 49
1989 43 2,641 9,029 49
1988 77 1,680 9,428 46
1987 64 1,830 9,700 46
1986 68 1,730 9,712 45
1985 74 1,616 10,313 42
1984 81 1,442 10,462 40
1983 84 1,407 10,831 39
1982 71 1,634 11,307 35
1981 75 1,576 11,782 35
1980 71 1,635 11,824 35
1979 74 1,564 11,649 34
1978 77 1,482 11,739 33
1977 76 1,461 11,811 31
1976 77 1,391 11,788 28
1975 78 1,371 12,017 29
1974 98 1,164 12,319 27
1973 77 1,324 12,906 24
1972 71 1,403 14,563 24
1971 95 1,202 17,477 24
1970 92 1,223 20,205 23
1969 121 980 20,694 22
1968 116 963 21,871 19
1967 87 1,138 22,840 18
1966 97 1,070 23,583 18
1965 91 1,105 24,926 16
1964 96 1,123 26,881 16
1963 79 1,236 26,679 17
1962 75 1,282 23,798 19
1961 73 1,301 25,625 18
1960 81 1,217 25,634 18
1959 75 1,243 25,694 17
1958 78 1,208 26,243 15
1957 64 1,330 26,985 18
1956 71 1,239 26,885 17
1955 65 1,262 26,677 16
1954 51 1,418 26,218 16
1953 50 1,386 25,510 17
1952 59 1,247 24,301 19
1951 50 1,327 22,846 18
1950 55 1,246 21,750 18
1949 57 1,207 21,585 17
1948 60 1,170 21,250 18
1947 63 1,136 22,792 18
1946 66 1,048 21,059 18
1945 37 1,327 16,992 17
1944 45 1,184 16,653 17
1943 47 1,189 17,251 19
1942 47 1,159 16,486 19
1941 63 931 15,161 18
1940 53 986 14,101 17
1939 47 1,049 13,333 17
1938 35 1,242 13,356 15
1937 44 1,081 12,880 15
1936 53 947 12,304 15
1935 59 902 12,559 14
1934 58 901 12,196 14
1933 51 971 11,850 14
1932 79 763 12,070 13
1931 91 705 12,252 12
1930 114 648 12,957 12
1929 91 734 12,432 13
1928 123 638 13,158 13
1927 102 716 13,606 13
1926 86 782 13,656 13
1925 81 832 14,175 13
1924 78 853 13,338 14
1923 76 843 13,363 14
1922 81 816 12,924 14
1921 60 962 13,168 14
1920 75 839 12,570 14
1919 59 923 11,306 15
1918 70 861 11,755 14
1917 62 887 11,155 13
1916 50 974 10,791 12
1915 44 1,008 10,328 13
1914 43 900 7,733 13
1913 31 976 5,966 14
1912 27 997 4,785 14
1911 15 1,224 2,393 17
1910 9 1,737 2,005 15
1909 13 1,198 1,676 17
1908 9 1,517 1,478 18
1907 13 1,127 1,358 20
1906 8 1,523 1,309 19
1905 6 1,877 1,262 19
1904 8 1,455 1,194 19
1903 8 1,414 1,081 19
1902 13 1,009 1,067 20
1901 6 1,625 924 19
1900 9 1,404 1,288 19
1899 6 1,550 885 21
1898 9 1,241 991 21
1897 5 1,738 923 20
1896 6 1,543 964 20
1895 8 1,277 933 20
1894 5 1,658 824 23
1893 8 1,152 743 25
1892 5 1,618 747 29
1891 < 5 -- 564 31
1890 5 1,487 607 31
1889 < 5 -- 556 35
1888 < 5 -- 529 38
1887 < 5 -- 449 40
1886 6 1,077 466 38
1885 6 1,023 428 43
1884 5 1,135 422 45
1883 < 5 -- 358 48
1882 < 5 -- 397 44
1881 < 5 -- 291 55
1880 < 5 -- 301 60

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.