Popularity of the name Paul, 1880–2025
Paul was at its most popular in 1964, when 26,874 boys were given the name: about 1 in 74 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #16. In 2025, 1,316 boys were named Paul, ranking #262. In all, Social Security counts 1,398,293 boys named Paul since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 5,842 girls named Paul.
- Peak year
- 1964
- Rank in 1964
- #16
- Babies in 1964
- 26,874
- Rank in 2025
- #262
- Total since 1880
- 1,398,293
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #199 in 2015 to #262 in 2025, with 2,032 boys named Paul in 2015 and 1,316 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Paul ranked highest in the 1910s, at #14, with 78,216 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #44 in the 1880s and #254 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 301 in 1880 (#60), 1,288 in 1900 (#19), 12,570 in 1920 (#14), 14,097 in 1940 (#17), 25,642 in 1960 (#18), 11,819 in 1980 (#35), 3,795 in 2000 (#100) and 1,401 in 2020 (#252).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 27,012, in 1957. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1957 than for 1964, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #12, first reached in 1916.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Paul, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 301 | #60 |
| 1881 | 291 | #55 |
| 1882 | 397 | #44 |
| 1883 | 358 | #48 |
| 1884 | 422 | #45 |
| 1885 | 428 | #43 |
| 1886 | 466 | #38 |
| 1887 | 449 | #40 |
| 1888 | 529 | #38 |
| 1889 | 555 | #35 |
| 1890 | 607 | #31 |
| 1891 | 564 | #31 |
| 1892 | 747 | #29 |
| 1893 | 743 | #25 |
| 1894 | 824 | #23 |
| 1895 | 933 | #20 |
| 1896 | 964 | #20 |
| 1897 | 923 | #20 |
| 1898 | 991 | #21 |
| 1899 | 885 | #21 |
| 1900 | 1,288 | #19 |
| 1901 | 924 | #19 |
| 1902 | 1,067 | #20 |
| 1903 | 1,081 | #19 |
| 1904 | 1,194 | #19 |
| 1905 | 1,262 | #19 |
| 1906 | 1,308 | #19 |
| 1907 | 1,358 | #20 |
| 1908 | 1,478 | #18 |
| 1909 | 1,676 | #17 |
| 1910 | 2,005 | #15 |
| 1911 | 2,393 | #17 |
| 1912 | 4,785 | #14 |
| 1913 | 5,966 | #14 |
| 1914 | 7,733 | #13 |
| 1915 | 10,328 | #13 |
| 1916 | 10,790 | #12 |
| 1917 | 11,156 | #13 |
| 1918 | 11,755 | #14 |
| 1919 | 11,305 | #15 |
| 1920 | 12,570 | #14 |
| 1921 | 13,169 | #14 |
| 1922 | 12,922 | #14 |
| 1923 | 13,362 | #14 |
| 1924 | 13,338 | #14 |
| 1925 | 14,175 | #13 |
| 1926 | 13,653 | #13 |
| 1927 | 13,604 | #13 |
| 1928 | 13,160 | #13 |
| 1929 | 12,431 | #13 |
| 1930 | 12,955 | #12 |
| 1931 | 12,255 | #12 |
| 1932 | 12,066 | #13 |
| 1933 | 11,854 | #14 |
| 1934 | 12,196 | #14 |
| 1935 | 12,563 | #14 |
| 1936 | 12,307 | #15 |
| 1937 | 12,881 | #15 |
| 1938 | 13,360 | #15 |
| 1939 | 13,337 | #17 |
| 1940 | 14,097 | #17 |
| 1941 | 15,166 | #18 |
| 1942 | 16,492 | #19 |
| 1943 | 17,253 | #19 |
| 1944 | 16,661 | #17 |
| 1945 | 16,995 | #17 |
| 1946 | 21,063 | #18 |
| 1947 | 22,796 | #18 |
| 1948 | 21,252 | #18 |
| 1949 | 21,589 | #17 |
| 1950 | 21,742 | #18 |
| 1951 | 22,853 | #18 |
| 1952 | 24,292 | #19 |
| 1953 | 25,509 | #16 |
| 1954 | 26,220 | #16 |
| 1955 | 26,701 | #16 |
| 1956 | 26,897 | #17 |
| 1957 | 27,012 | #18 |
| 1958 | 26,264 | #15 |
| 1959 | 25,712 | #17 |
| 1960 | 25,642 | #18 |
| 1961 | 25,640 | #18 |
| 1962 | 23,802 | #19 |
| 1963 | 26,672 | #17 |
| 1964 | 26,874 | #16 |
| 1965 | 24,919 | #16 |
| 1966 | 23,578 | #18 |
| 1967 | 22,821 | #18 |
| 1968 | 21,865 | #19 |
| 1969 | 20,690 | #22 |
| 1970 | 20,196 | #23 |
| 1971 | 17,469 | #24 |
| 1972 | 14,555 | #24 |
| 1973 | 12,901 | #24 |
| 1974 | 12,310 | #27 |
| 1975 | 12,017 | #29 |
| 1976 | 11,781 | #28 |
| 1977 | 11,798 | #31 |
| 1978 | 11,733 | #33 |
| 1979 | 11,630 | #34 |
| 1980 | 11,819 | #35 |
| 1981 | 11,776 | #35 |
| 1982 | 11,310 | #35 |
| 1983 | 10,828 | #39 |
| 1984 | 10,460 | #40 |
| 1985 | 10,315 | #42 |
| 1986 | 9,715 | #45 |
| 1987 | 9,707 | #46 |
| 1988 | 9,438 | #46 |
| 1989 | 9,029 | #49 |
| 1990 | 8,579 | #49 |
| 1991 | 7,680 | #53 |
| 1992 | 7,003 | #55 |
| 1993 | 6,481 | #56 |
| 1994 | 5,798 | #64 |
| 1995 | 5,414 | #71 |
| 1996 | 4,883 | #78 |
| 1997 | 4,752 | #79 |
| 1998 | 4,321 | #89 |
| 1999 | 4,020 | #94 |
| 2000 | 3,795 | #100 |
| 2001 | 3,523 | #109 |
| 2002 | 3,263 | #118 |
| 2003 | 3,256 | #123 |
| 2004 | 3,191 | #127 |
| 2005 | 3,145 | #130 |
| 2006 | 3,037 | #132 |
| 2007 | 2,771 | #147 |
| 2008 | 2,555 | #154 |
| 2009 | 2,428 | #160 |
| 2010 | 2,129 | #177 |
| 2011 | 2,078 | #186 |
| 2012 | 1,958 | #190 |
| 2013 | 2,038 | #198 |
| 2014 | 2,007 | #201 |
| 2015 | 2,032 | #199 |
| 2016 | 1,941 | #206 |
| 2017 | 1,699 | #225 |
| 2018 | 1,635 | #234 |
| 2019 | 1,513 | #245 |
| 2020 | 1,401 | #252 |
| 2021 | 1,385 | #257 |
| 2022 | 1,334 | #262 |
| 2023 | 1,359 | #256 |
| 2024 | 1,330 | #262 |
| 2025 | 1,316 | #262 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.