Paulita
Feminine form of Paul, a Latin name meaning "humble" or "small".
Name Census estimates that about 521 living Americans carry the first name Paulita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paulita today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paulita births was 1927 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paulita. 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
521
~ 1 in 657,878 Americans
Peak year
1927
26 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,475
Tracked since 1888
Census
Paulita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 929 people with the first name Paulita, which placed it at #13,117 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
#13,117
National first-name rank
People counted
929
929 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
56.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paulita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paulita is Hispanic at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (9.6%). 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 Paulita 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 Paulita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino56.9% · 529
- Asian and Pacific Islander20.5% · 190
- White9.6% · 89
- Black or African American8.7% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 28
- Two or more races1.3% · 12
Popularity
Paulita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paulita from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 166 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paulita 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 Paulita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Paulitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Paulita
Paulita is a feminine given name with roots in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. It is a diminutive form of the name Paula, which itself is derived from the ancient Roman family name Paulius or Paulus. Paulus stems from the Latin word "paulus", meaning "small" or "humble".
The name Paulita gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Christian influences, such as the Iberian Peninsula and parts of Latin America. It was often bestowed upon girls born into devout Catholic families, as a nod to the apostle Paul, one of the most influential figures in early Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Paulita can be found in the 13th century "Cantigas de Santa Maria", a collection of poems and songs dedicated to the Virgin Mary, composed by King Alfonso X of Castile and León. In these works, Paulita is mentioned as the name of a young woman who was miraculously cured of a grave illness after praying to the Virgin.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Paulita. One such figure is Paulita de la Piedra (1843-1923), a celebrated Cuban poet and writer who played a significant role in the island's independence movement. Another is Paulita Maxwell (1846-1919), a prominent landowner and rancher in New Mexico, whose family's vast holdings became the subject of legal disputes and controversies.
In the realm of music, Paulita Concepción (1888-1975) was a renowned Mexican singer and actress, known for her contributions to the genre of "ranchera" music. She was a pioneering figure in the early days of Mexican cinema and is remembered for her powerful voice and emotional performances.
Another notable Paulita was Paulita Gómez (1905-1973), a Mexican-American actress and dancer who appeared in numerous Hollywood films during the 1920s and 1930s, often portraying exoticized "Latin" characters. Her performances helped to challenge and subvert racial stereotypes prevalent in the industry at the time.
Lastly, Paulita Fernández (1923-2001) was a celebrated Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in promoting and preserving the art of flamenco, both in Spain and internationally, and was widely recognized for her passion, technical mastery, and innovative choreographic works.
People
Paulita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paulita 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
Paulita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paulita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 521 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paulita 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 657,878 US residents.
Is Paulita a common name?
We classify Paulita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 991 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paulita most popular?
The single biggest year for Paulita was 1927, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paulita is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Paulita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 929 people with the name Paulita, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,117 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 Paulita 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 Paulita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Paulita appears almost entirely female. Of the 932 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Paulita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Paulita is Hispanic at 56.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (20.5%) and White (9.6%). 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 Paulita most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Paulita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.9% (529 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 Paulita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Paulita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paulita 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 Paulita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Paulita 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 Paulita 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 Paulita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.