2000
#8,938
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,363
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Paulin
A French surname derived from the Latin name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,816 Americans carry the last name Paulin. That puts it at #9,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,820 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paulin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Paulin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 89,820
Census rank
#9,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,328 bearers of the surname Paulin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.8%) and Black (12.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paulin
The surname Paulin originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Paulinus, which itself comes from the Roman family name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble". The earliest known spelling variations of the name include Paulyn, Paulyne, and Paulyn de Rohan.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the Paulin surname was Paulin de Nole, a 5th-century Christian poet and bishop of Nola in Italy. In England, the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Paulinus, the name of a landholder in Somerset.
During the Middle Ages, the Paulin name was particularly prominent in the region of Brittany, France. Paulin de Rohan (1415-1491) was a notable member of the powerful Rohan family and served as the Bishop of Léon in Brittany.
In the 16th century, Jean Paulin (1510-1591) was a French Protestant clergyman and writer who played a role in the French Wars of Religion. Another famous bearer of the name was Isaac Paulin (1630-1696), a French lawyer and writer who authored several legal treatises.
In the 18th century, Pierre Paulin (1719-1799) was a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Petit Trianon at Versailles.
Moving into the 19th century, Pierre-Joseph Paulin (1825-1891) was a French politician who served as a deputy in the National Assembly and was involved in the development of the French railway system.
Throughout its history, the Paulin surname has also been associated with various place names in France, such as Paulin in the Ardennes region and Pauliny in the Côte-d'Or region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paulin
Among Census respondents with the surname Paulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.8%) and Black (12.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Paulin bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Paulin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 2,020
- Hispanic or Latino21.8% · 725
- Black or African American12.3% · 408
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 91
- Two or more races2.5% · 82
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paulin
Paulin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,689
+326 bearers (+9.7%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Up 63 places
2020
#9,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,328
-361 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 502 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,938 | 3,363 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,875 | 3,689 | 1.25 | +326 bearers (+9.7%) | Up 63 places |
| 2020 | #9,377 | 3,328 | 1.11 | -361 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 502 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Paulin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,875 | #9,377 | -5.7% |
| Count | 3,689 | 3,328 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.11 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paulin bearers went from 3,689 to 3,328 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 502 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,875 to #9,377.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Paulin
FAQ
Paulin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paulin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,816 living Americans carry the surname Paulin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,820 residents.
How common is Paulin?
Paulin ranks #9,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,328 people with the surname Paulin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,816), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Paulin.
Has Paulin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paulin went from 3,689 recorded bearers to 3,328. That is a decrease of 361 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,875 to #9,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Paulin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paulin, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.8%) and Black (12.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Paulin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (2,020 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paulin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.7%), Hispanic (21.8%), Black (12.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Paulin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Paulin mean?
A French surname derived from the Latin name Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Paulin (1.11 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Paulin?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Paulin is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.