Given name & surname
Poul
“small”·“a small or humble man”
Poul is a form of Paul. Interpretations include “small” and “a small or humble man” (Latin). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Poul is a form 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
Poul is a form of Paul. An origin associated with Paul is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Danish use, Poul is used as a form of Paul.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1944. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Poul through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 39
- 39 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 8 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 1995. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 8 in 1970. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 325 as a first name in 2020; 121 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.
Poul’s family of names
Poul shares a linguistic root with Paul. In Danish usage, Poul has a conventional equivalent in the Czech form Pavel. Poul has a related form in Paul.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Poul has relatives in 9 languages.
9 related names in 9 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.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 28
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Pabloequivalent
- Pauloequivalent
- Paoloequivalent
- PavelCzech
- Pauequivalent
- Paulinoequivalent
- Pavloequivalent
- Pavleequivalent
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Pavlosequivalent
- Pauliequivalent
- Paulosequivalent
- Pawelequivalent
- Paulusroot · Latin
- Παύλοςequivalent
- Poulsen“son of” surname · Danish
- 保羅Chinese
- PawełPolish
- Павлоequivalent
- Pouelequivalent
- Պողոսequivalent
- Павлеequivalent
- Povilasequivalent
- Pálequivalent
- Павелequivalent
- Paolequivalent
- Pavolequivalent
- Boghosequivalent
- Paavoequivalent
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Poul
- Poul AndersonAmerican science fiction writer (1926–2001)
- Poul Nyrup RasmussenPrime Minister of Denmark from 1993 to 2001born 1943
- Poul SchlüterPrime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 19931929–2021
- Poul HartlingDanish politician and diplomat (1914-2000)
- Poul NielsenDanish footballer (1891-1962)
- Paul EgedeDano-Norwegian theologian1708–1789
- Poul JensenDanish astronomerborn 2000
- Poul HeegaardDanish mathematician (1871-1948)
- Poul DalsagerDanish politician (1929-2001)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Poul, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Donnell
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
>99% boys
Joell
“Jehovah is God; God is willing”
>99% boys
Pietro
“as solid and strong as a rock”
>99% boys
Bryon
Bryon is a masculine given name from Irish.
>99% boys
Nils
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Lamonte
“a man of the law”
>99% boys
Charlton
“from the free man's town”
>99% boys
Vidal
“life” · “a giver of life”
>99% boys