Paul (given name)
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Pronunciation | /pɔːl/ French: [pɔl] German: [ˈpaʊl] Dutch: [ˈpʌu̯l] |
---|---|
Gender | Male |
Name day | June 29 |
Origin | |
Meaning | "small" or "humble" |
Other names | |
Related names | Paulus, Pauli, Paulo, Paolo, Pablo, Paavo, Pavel |
Paul (/pɔːl/ (listen)) is a common masculine given name in countries and ethnicities with a Christian heritage (Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism) and, beyond Europe, in Christian religious communities throughout the world. Paul – or its variations – can be a given name or surname.
Origin and diffusion[]
The name has existed since Roman times. It derives from the Roman family name Paulus or Paullus, from the Latin adjective meaning "small" or "humble".[1][2] During the Classical Age it was used to distinguish the minor of two people of the same family bearing the same name. The Roman patrician family of the Gens Aemilia included such prominent persons as Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, Tertia Aemilia Paulla (the wife of Scipio Africanus), and Sergius Paulus.
Its prevalence in nations with a Christian heritage is primarily due to its attachment to Saint Paul the Apostle, whose Greek name was Παῦλος, Paûlos, a transliteration from the Latin, also carrying the "modest" meaning of this name, and possibly chosen because of its similarity to his Jewish name Šaul. The name Paul is common, with variations, in all European languages (e.g. English, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Greek, Russian, Georgian).
Paul's popularity has varied. In the United States, the 1990 census shows it ranked the 13th most common (male) name;[3] however, Social Security Administration data shows popularity in the top 20 until 1968, with steadily declining use until its 2015 rank of 200th.[4]
The feminine versions are Paula, Pauline, Paulina, and Paulette.
Translations[]
- Albanian: Pal
- Amharic: ጳውሎስ (Paulos)
- Latin: Paulus, Paulinus
- Arabic: بولس (Bulus, in the Bible)
- Aragonese: Pavlo
- Armenian Old: Պաւղոս (Pawłos)
- Armenian Western: Պօղոս (Boġos)
- Armenian Eastern: Պողոս (Poġos)
- Assamese: Pabloo
- Asturian: Pablu
- Basque: Paulo
- Belarusian: Павeл (Paweł), Паўлюк (Paŭluk), Паўлюсь (Paŭluś), Пол (Pol)
- Bengali: পল (Pol)
- Biblical Greek: Paulos or Pavlos
- Biblical Latin: Paulus
- Bosnian: Pavao, Pavão, Pavle
- Breton: Paol
- Bulgarian: Павел (Pavel)
- Catalan: Pau, Pol
- Chinese: 保羅, 保罗 (Bǎoluó), 保祿 (Bǎolù)
- Coptic: ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ (Paulos), ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲉ (Paule), ⲡⲁⲩ (Pau)
- Cornish: Pawl
- Corsican: Paulu
- Croatian: Pavao, Pavle, Pavo
- Czech: Pavel
- Danish: Poul, Povl, Palle
- Dutch: Paul, Paulus, Pauwel
- Esperanto: Paŭlo, Paĉjo
- Estonian: Paul, Paavel, Paavo
- Faroese: Páll, Pál, Palli, Pól, Pauli
- Fijian: Paula
- Finnish: Paavali, Paavo, Pauli
- French: Paul, Pol, Paulin
- Frisian: Pouw, Powles, Paulus
- Galician: Paulo
- Georgian: პავლე (Pavle)
- German: Paul
- Greek: Παύλος (Pávlos, Páv̱los)
- Gujarati: પોલ (Pōl)
- Haitian Creole: Pòl
- Hakka: Pó-lò
- Hausa: Bulus
- Hawaiian: Paulo
- Hebrew: פאולוס (Paulus – only used in Biblical context)), פול (Pol)
- Hindi: पौलुस (pəulus , पौल (pɔl)
- Hungarian: Pál (Nicknames: Pali, Palika, Paja, Pajus, Pajó, Palcsi, Palcsika, Pálka, Palkó, Pálocska)
- Icelandic: Páll
- Indonesian: Paulus
- Irish: Pól, Pódhl
- Italian: Paolo, Paolino
- Japanese: ポール (Pōru), and in Biblical context, パウロ (Pauro)
- Kannada: ಪಾಲ್ (Pāl)
- Korean: 파울로스 (Paulloseu) or 폴 (Pol)
- Catholic: 바오로 (Baoro)
- Orthodox: 바울로 (Baullo)
- Protestant: 바울 (Baul), 바우로 (Baulo, Anglican)
- Latin: Paulus
- Latvian: Pauls, Pāvils
- Lithuanian: Paulas, Paulius, Povilas
- Luganda: Paolo
- Malayalam: പൗലോസ് (Paulose)
- Macedonian: Павле (Pavle, Pavel)
- Maltese: Pawl, Pawlu
- Manx: Payl
- Māori: Paora
- Marathi: पौलुस (pəulus – only used in Biblical context), पॉल (pɔl), पाव्लो (paʋlo), पाब्लो (pablo)
- Mongolian: Павел (Pavel), Паул
- Na'vi: Pawl
- Nepali: पावलले (Pāvalalē)
- Norwegian: Paul, Pål
- Occitan: Pau
- Old English: Paulus
- Philippine languages: Pablo or Paulo
- Polish: Paweł
- Portuguese: Paulo, Paulino, Paulinho
- Punjabi: ਪੌਲੁਸਨੇ (Paulusanē)
- Romanian: Paul, Pavel
- Russian: Пол (Pol), Павел (Pavel), Паша (Pasha)
- Sardinian: Paulu
- Scottish Gaelic: Pòl, Pàl
- Serbian: Павле (Pavle)
- Shona: Paurosi
- Sicilian: Pàulu, Paulu
- Sinhala: පාවුලු (Pawulu)
- Slovak: Pavol
- Slovene: Pavel
- Spanish: Pablo, Paulino
- Swedish: Paul, Pål
- Syriac: Pawlos, Pola ܦܵܘܠܘܿܣ, ܦܵܘܠܲܐ
- Tamil: பவுல் (Pavul)
- Telugu: పౌలు (Pāulu)
- Thai: พอล (Paul)
- Ukrainian: Павло (Pavló)
- Urdu: پال
- Venetian: Pagoło, Poło
- Vietnamese: Phao-lô
- Welsh: Pawl
Notable examples[]
Below are Pauls who are notable in their fields. This is not a comprehensive list of articles on people named Paul; see instead All pages with titles beginning with Paul.
- Patriarch Paul (disambiguation)
- Paul I (disambiguation)
- Paul II (disambiguation)
- Paul, Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (died 1371)
- Paul Allen (1953–2018), co-founder of Microsoft
- Paul Thomas Anderson (born 1970), American film director and screenwriter
- Paul Anka (born 1941), Canadian singer and songwriter
- Paul Anspach (1882–1991), Belgian épée and foil fencer, two-time Olympic champion
- Paul Acheampong Cofie Atuahene (born 1923), Ghanaian politician
- Paul Bateson (born 1940), American former radiographer, convicted murderer, and suspected serial killer
- Paul Benjamin (1938–2019), American actor and playwright
- Paul Bernardo (born 1964), Canadian serial killer and rapist
- Paul Bettany (born 1971), English actor
- Paul Blomfield (born 1953) British politician
- Paul D. Boyer (1918–2018), American biochemist, Nobel prize winner
- Paul Breitner (born 1951), German international footballer
- Paul Breyne (born 1947), Belgian politician
- Paul Bristow (born 1979), British politician
- Paul Brown (1908–1991), American football coach, team owner, and executive
- Paul Bryar (1910–1985), American actor
- Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), French artist
- Paul Christophe (born 1971), French politician
- Paul Craft (1938–2014), American singer-songwriter
- Paul Crutzen (born 1933), Dutch meteorologist, Nobel prize winner
- Paul Dano (born 1984), American actor and filmmaker
- Paul Desmond (1924–1977), American jazz saxophonist and composer
- Paul Diamond (born 1961), Croatian retired professional wrestler
- Paul S. Diamond (born 1953), United States District Judge
- Paul Dirac (1902–1984), English physicist and Nobel-prize winner
- Paul Dooley (born 1928), American actor
- Paul Dukas (1865–1935), French composer
- Paul Durousseau (born 1970), American serial killer
- Paul Ehrenfest (1880–1933), Austrian-Dutch theoretical physicist
- Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), German physician and chemist
- Paul Erdős (1913–1996), Hungarian mathematician
- Paul Fernando (1951–2020), Sri Lankan Sinhala baila vocalist
- Paul Freeman (disambiguation), several people
- Paul Friedberg (born 1959), American Olympic fencer
- Paul Gascoigne (born 1967), English footballer
- Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), French painter
- Paul Geidel (1894–1987), The longest-serving prison inmate in the United States
- Paul George (born 1990), American basketball player
- Paul Giamatti (born 1967), American actor
- Paul Goldstein (born 1976), American tennis player
- Paul Götze (1903–1948), Nazi SS officer at Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps executed for war crimes
- Paul Guermonprez (1908–1944), photographer, graphic designer, Dutch resistance member in World War II
- Paul Haarhuis (born 1966), Dutch tennis player
- Paul Hewson, or his stage name Bono (born 1960), Irish singer of U2
- Paul Henderson (1939–2018), American journalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize
- Paul Jennings Hill (1954–2003), American minister convicted of killing John Britton
- Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), German composer
- Paul von Hindenburg (1847–1934), German field marshal and statesman
- Paul Hinder, bishop from Abu Dhabi
- Paul Hogan (born 1939), Australian actor and comedian
- Paul Homan (1893–1969), American economist
- Paul Ince (born 1967), English international footballer
- Pavlo Ishchenko (born 1992), Ukrainian-Israeli boxer
- Paul Janssen (1926–2003), Belgian pharmacologist, founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica
- Paul Jaworski (1900–1929), American bank robber
- Paul Marshall Johnson Jr. (1955–2004), American helicopter engineer and murder victim
- Paul Kagame (born 1957), President of Rwanda
- Paul Keating (born 1944), Australian Prime Minister
- Paul Klee (1879–1940), Swiss-German painter
- Paul John Knowles (1946–1974), American serial killer and rapist
- Paul Klenerman (born 1963), British Olympic sabre fencer
- Paul Kruger (1825–1904), President of the South African Republic
- Paul Krugman (born 1953), Nobel Prize-winning American economist and writer
- Paul LePage (born 1948), American politician and businessman
- Paul Levesque (born 1969), American wrestler better known as "Triple H"
- Paul Makler Sr. (born 1920), American Olympic fencer
- Paul Makler Jr. (born 1946), son of Paul Makler Sr., and American Olympic fencer
- Paul McCartney (born 1942), English singer and musician; member of The Beatles
- Paul McCobb (1917–1969), American furniture designer
- Paul McGonagle (1939–1974), Irish-American mobster
- Paul Millsap (born 1985), American basketball player
- Paul Morphy (1837–1884), American chess player
- Paul Newman (1925–2008), American actor and philanthropist
- Paul Nipkow (1860–1940), German inventor
- Paul Oakenfold (born 1963), English DJ and electronic musician
- Paul Ogorzow (1912–1941), German serial killer and rapist
- Paul Okon (born 1972), Australian football manager and player
- Paul Orndorff (1949–2021), American professional wrestler
- Paul Otlet (1868–1944), Belgian author and peace activist, father of information science
- Paul Pairet (born 1964), French chef
- Paul Pelosi (born 1940), American businessman
- Paul Perera (1929-2007), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician and lawyer
- Paul Pierce (born 1977), American basketball player
- Paul Pogba (born 1993), French footballer
- Paul Poiret (1879–1944), French fashion designer
- Paul Poom (born 1958), Estonian actor
- Paul Rabil (born 1985), American professional lacrosse player
- Paul Reed (disambiguation), multiple people
- Paul Reiser (born 1957), American comedian
- Paul Reubens (born 1952), American comedian known for playing Pee-wee Herman
- Paul Reuter (1816–1899), German-born British news reporter, founder of the Reuters News Agency
- Paul Revere (1735–1818), patriot of the American Revolution and silversmith
- Paul Robeson (1898–1976), American actor, singer and activist
- Paul Rodgers (born 1949), English musician/songwriter, singer in Free and Bad Company
- Paul Roma (born 1960), American retired professional wrestler
- Paul Rudd (born 1969), American actor
- Paul Ryan (born 1970), American politician and former House Speaker
- Paul Samuelson (1915–2009), Nobel Prize-winning American economist
- Paul Scholes (born 1974), England international footballer
- Paul Scofield (1922–2008), English actor
- Paul Sereno (born 1957), paleontologist
- Paul Simon (born 1941), American musician
- Paul Smith (born 1946), English fashion designer
- Paul Stastny (born 1985), Canadian-American ice hockey player
- Paul Michael Stephani (1944-1998), American serial killer
- Paul Sutter, American astrophysicist
- Paul Varelans (1969–2021), American professional mixed martial artist
- Paul Van Himst (born 1943), Belgian footballer
- Paul van Ostaijen (1896–1928), Belgian poet and writer
- Paul Verhoeven (born 1938), Dutch film director
- Paul Verlaine (1844–1896), French poet
- Paul Volcker (1927–2019), American economist
- Paul Walker (1973–2013), American actor
- Paul Webster, British journalist
- Paul Weller (born 1958), English musician
- Paul Wesley (born 1982), American actor
- Paul Whitehouse (born 1958), Welsh comedian
- Paul Wieghardt (1897–1969), German-born American artist and professor.
- Paul Wight (born 1972), American wrestler known as "Big Show"
- Paul Winchell (1922–2005), American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, voice artist, humanitarian, and inventor
- Paul Wolfowitz (born 1943), American political scientist and diplomat
- Pope Paul (disambiguation)
- Saint Paul (disambiguation)
See also[]
- All pages with titles beginning with Paul
- All pages with titles beginning with Paul of – for people known as "Paul of ..."
- Jean-Paul (disambiguation)
- John Paul (disambiguation)
- John Paul Jones (disambiguation)
- Paavo
- Pablo
- Paolo
- Pauli
- Paulo
- Paulus
- Pavel
- Paul (disambiguation)
- Paul-Antoine
- Paula (given name), feminine of Paul
- Paul (surname)
References[]
- ^ "The Name Paul - Origin and Meaning of Paul". Male & Female Names. Igor Katsev. 2013. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "The Name Paulus - Origin and Meaning of Paulus". Male & Female Names. Igor Katsev. 2013. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 1990 – Names Files", Census.gov, U.S. Census Bureau, December 29, 2009, archived from the original on March 27, 2010
- ^ "Popularity of a Name: Popularity of name Paul". Social Security. Social Security Administration. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
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