Paolina
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "small" or "petite".
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Paolina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paolina today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paolina births was 2004 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paolina. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
2004
15 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,856
Tracked since 1920
Census
Paolina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 356 people with the first name Paolina, which placed it at #26,232 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,232
National first-name rank
People counted
356
356 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paolina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paolina is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (47.8%) and Black (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Paolina described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Paolina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.3% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino47.8% · 170
- Black or African American2.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 5
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Popularity
Paolina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paolina from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 75 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paolina by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Paolina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paolinas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Paolina
The given name Paolina is derived from the Italian name Paola, which is the feminine form of the male name Paolo. Paolo, in turn, traces its origins to the ancient Roman family name Paulus, which means "small" or "humble" in Latin.
The name Paolina gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Italy and other regions influenced by Italian culture and the Roman Catholic Church. It was often given to girls as a way to honor Saint Paul the Apostle, one of the most influential figures in early Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Paolina can be found in the works of the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch, who mentioned a woman named Paolina in his literary works. This suggests that the name was already in use during the Renaissance period in Italy.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Paolina. One of the most famous was Paolina Bonaparte (1780-1825), the sister of Napoleon Bonaparte and the first sovereign Princess of Guastalla in Italy.
Another prominent figure was Paolina Secco Suardo (1809-1891), an Italian countess and philanthropist who founded several charitable institutions in Milan and dedicated her life to assisting the poor and underprivileged.
In the field of literature, Paolina Gesso (1823-1857) was an Italian poet and writer who gained recognition for her lyrical works and contributions to the Romantic movement in Italy.
The name Paolina also has associations with the arts. Paolina Borghese (1780-1825), a renowned Italian princess and socialite, was the subject of several famous sculptures by the Neoclassical artist Antonio Canova.
Paolina Marziali (1914-1993) was an Italian actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions, earning acclaim for her versatile talent and captivating performances.
While the name Paolina has its roots in Italian culture and history, it has since been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions around the world, reflecting the enduring appeal and significance of this name across time and geography.
People
Paolina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paolina as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paolina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paolina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paolina going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Paolina a common name?
We classify Paolina as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paolina most popular?
The single biggest year for Paolina was 2004, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paolina is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Paolina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 356 people with the name Paolina, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,232 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Paolina in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Paolina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paolina appears almost entirely female. Of the 357 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Paolina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paolina is White at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (47.8%) and Black (2.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Paolina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Paolina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (172 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Paolina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Paolina a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paolina in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Paolina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Paolina in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Paolina can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Paolina?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.