Paulo

Did you know?

A few things about Paulo you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Paulo

Paulo Coelho

Brazilian lyricist and novelist (born 1947)

Choose Paulo and your child shares a first name with Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Paulo, like who?” Paulo Coelho's Wikipedia article is available in 133 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Paulo Coelho on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Lula Oficial, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 15,528 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Paulo, 110 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Paulo would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryPaulo first shows up in US birth records in 1913, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 112 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1973, when it reached #932.
• 🚀TrendPaulo has climbed 55 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #1,554. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedPaulo is most popular in Texas, where it ranks #856, followed by California (#957). It's in the top 1,000 in 2 states.
• 💬MeaningPaulo is a Portuguese form of Paul, which means “small”. Our records link it to African, Hawaiian and Latin roots.
• 🌍OriginPaulo is the #10 most popular African boy name in the US. That's out of 218 African boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Paulo

Paulo is a boy name of African, Hawaiian and Latin origin meaning “small”. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with P and ending in “-ulo”. US birth records list Paulo for boys from 1913 to 2025, in 111 of those 113 years. Its best year was 1973, when it ranked #932 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,554, with 110 babies.

Origin:African namesHawaiian namesLatin namesPortuguese namesSpanish namesSwedish names