Given name & surname
Pavle
“small”·“a small or humble man”
Pavle 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
Pavle 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
Pavle is a variant of Paul. An origin associated with Paul is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Pavle developed from Paulus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1999. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Pavle through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 139
- 139 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 14 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,655 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −40%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,655 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 295 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.
Pavle’s family of names
In Serbo-Croatian usage, Pavle developed from the Latin form Paulus. Pavle has a related form in Paul. In Serbo-Croatian usage, Pavle has a conventional equivalent in the English form Paul.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Pavle has relatives in 7 languages.
6 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
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 25
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Pavle
- Prince Paul of YugoslaviaRegent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1893-1976)
- Pavle Paja JovanovićSerbian painter (1859-1957)
- Pavle ĐurišićMontenegrin Serb professional officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army (1909-1945)
- Pavle Jurišić ŠturmSerbian general (1848–1922)
- Pavle NinkovSerbian footballerborn 1985
- Pavle VuisićSerbian and Yugoslav actor (1926–1988)
- Pavle VagićSwedish association football playerborn 2000
- Pavle JurinaCroatian handball player (1954-2011)
- Pavle BranovićSerbian Prince900–921
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Pavle, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.