Given name & surname
Paola
“a petite woman”
Paola is a variant of Paula. In English use, Paula carries the interpretation “a petite woman.”
Original ItalianPaolo
Meaning & origin
What it means
Paola is a variant of Paula. In English use, Paula carries the interpretation “a petite woman.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Italian usage, Paola is a feminine form of Paolo.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Paola through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 24,644
- 148 boys · 24,496 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 1,089 babies
- 2025
- 178
- #1,260 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 178 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,260 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 21.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,089 in 2006. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (39). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 40,331 as a first name in 2020; 544 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Paola’s family of names
In Italian usage, Paola is a feminine form of Paolo. Paola has a related form in Paula. In Portuguese usage, Paola has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Paula.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Paola has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Italian roots to each of them.
Italianwhere Paola comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Paolomasculine form · Italian
- Paulinaequivalent
- Pauletteequivalent
- Paulineequivalent
- Paolinaequivalent
- PablaPortuguese, Spanish
- Pauleequivalent
- Paollaequivalent
Show 3 moreShow fewer
People named Paola
- Queen Paola of Belgiumqueen consort of the Belgiansborn 1937
- Paola SuárezArgentine tennis playerborn 1976
- Paola CortellesiItalian actress and singer (born 1973)
- Paola EgonuItalian volleyball player (born 1998)
- Paola NúñezMexican actressborn 1978
- Paola ReyColombian actress and modelborn 1979
- Paola EspinosaMexican diverborn 1986
- Paola PezzoItalian cyclistborn 1969
- Paola PigniItalian athletics competitor (1945-2021)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Paola, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Analia is a feminine given name from Spanish.
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