Given name
Paolina
“small”
Paolina is a feminine given name from Latin. It is used in Breton.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Paolina goes back to Latin Paulina, meaning “small.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Paolina through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 183
- 0 boys · 183 girls
- Most popular year
- 2004
- 15 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,677 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,677 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 15 in 2004. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 357 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Paolina’s family of names
In Breton usage, Paolina has a diminutive in Lina. In Italian usage, Paolina has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Paulina. In Italian usage, Paolina has a diminutive in Paolino.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Paolina has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 10
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- PaulinaPolish
- Paolaequivalent
- Paulineequivalent
- Polinaequivalent
- Pavlinaequivalent
- Paolineequivalent
- Paolettaequivalent
- Palinaequivalent
Show 2 moreShow fewer
People named Paolina
- Paola BorboniItalian actress (1900-1995)
- Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of JesusAustro-Hungarian immigrant to Brazil, foundress and saint1865–1942
- Paolina LeopardiItalian noblewoman and translator, sister of Giacomo Leopardi (1800-1869)
- Paolina Secco SuardoItalian poet (1746-1801)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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