Given name & surname
Paulus
“small”·“a small or humble man”
Paulus is a variant of Paul. Interpretations include “small” and “a small or humble man” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Paulus is a variant of Paul. Interpretations include “small” and “a small or humble man” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Paulus is a variant of Paul. An origin associated with Paul is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Latin Paulus, from Latin paulus, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1929. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Paulus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 21
- 21 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1965
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1987. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6 in 1965. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 313 as a first name in 2020; 4,702 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.
Paulus’s family of names
In Latin usage, Paulus has a feminine form in Paula. Paulus has a related form in Paul. In Latin usage, Paulus has a conventional equivalent in the English form Paul.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Paulus has relatives in 44 languages.
43 related names in 44 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 43
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Pabloderivative · Tagalog
- Paulafeminine form · Latin, English
- Pauloderivative · Swahili
- Paolodescendant · Italian
- Pavelderivative · Slovene, Serbo-Croatian
- Pauderivative · Catalan
- Paulinoderivative
- Pavlederivative · Serbo-Croatian
Show 35 moreShow fewer
- Palderivative · Albanian
- Poulderivative · Middle English
- 保羅Chinese
- Павелderivative · Russian, Belarusian
- Павьлъderivative · cu
- Паѵьлеderivative · zle-ono
- pawro’derivative · xsy
- Павелъderivative · zle-ort
- Павлоderivative · Ukrainian
- ܦܘܠܘܣderivative · Syriac, aii
- Podlderivative · Norwegian Nynorsk
- Павлеderivative · rsk
- பவுல்derivative · Tamil
- Պօղոսderivative · Classical Armenian
- پاولderivative · Persian
- پولسderivative · Urdu, Persian
- بولسderivative · Arabic
- Paaylderivative · Manx
- Παύλοςderivative · Greek
- Πόλαfeminine form · Greek
- Παυλίναfeminine form · Greek
- PawełPolish
- Povilasderivative · Lithuanian
- Pavalderivative · Serbo-Croatian
- Pavaoderivative · Serbo-Croatian
- Pāvelsderivative · Latvian
- Paulsderivative · Latvian
- Pòlderivative · Scottish Gaelic
- Pálderivative · Faroese
- Paavaliderivative · Finnish
- Pålderivative · Swedish, Norwegian
- Pállderivative · Icelandic
- Pólderivative · sga, Irish
- PalushAlbanian
- ΠαῦλοςAncient Greek
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Paulus
- Paulus PotterDutch painter (1625-1654)
- Paulus ArajuuriFinnish footballerborn 1988
- Paulus MoreelseDutch portrait painter (1571–1638)
- Paulus BorDutch painter (1601-1669)
- Paul HermannGerman botanist (1646-1695)
- Paul LotsijDutch rower (1880-1910)
- Paul MelchersGerman Cardinal and Archbishop of Cologne (1813–1895)
- Paulus Edward Pieris DeraniyagalaSri Lankan academic (1900–1976)
- Paulus Hector MairGerman civil servant (1517–1579)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Paulus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“manliness” · “virility”
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Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
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Darin
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Darrin
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