Paula

Meaning: Its source is a Latin expression meaning "Small."

Languages: This girl's name is used in German, Dutch, English, Greek, Portuguese, Hungarian and Polish.

Variant Forms: Lepaula, Paulena, Paulene, Pauletha, Pauletta, Paulette, Pauline, Paulinique, Paulisa, Paulita, Paoletta and Lapaula

Non-English Forms: Paola, Paule, Pavla, Pola and Polina

Popularity: The name Paula ranked 576th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 95th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

This name is highly rated in the 1990 U.S. Census popularity survey of all ages, but after 1960 does not appear in the state data listing the most popular baby names.

Narrative: Though Paula was used among early Christians, no doubt to honor St. Paul, it was not used widely in English-speaking countries until the 20th century. In the interim, it was mainly identified as a German name.

Paulina, another ancient Latin name, did come into use among English speakers in the 19th century; however, as Paula increased in popularity in Britain and America, the French forms Pauline and Paulette joined it in eclipsing the older name.

Arts and Music

Paula Abdul (born 1962)
American singer.
- 1989 MTV Networks award for best video by a female artist, for ''''Straight Up'''' (see list of Winners of MTV Video Music Awards)
Paula Modersohn-Becker (born 1865, died 1938)
German painter.
- Painted Self-Portrait with a Camellia (see list of 20th-century Modern Artists)
''Hey Paula''
- A 1963 hit recorded by Paul and Paula (see list of Names in Song titles)

Leadership

Paula Fickes Hawkins (born 1926)
American politician.
- Senator, R-Florida, 1981-87 (see list of Women in the Senate)

Miscellaneous

Paula
- Hurricane or tropical storm (see list of Hurricane and Tropical Storm Names)

Sports

Paula Sperber Carter
- Member of the Women''s International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame (see list of Women's International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame)
Paula Ivan
Romanian athlete.
- 1988 Olympic track and field gold medal winner for 1500m (see list of Olympic Gold Medalists in Miscellaneous Track Events)
Paula Newby-Fraser
- 1986, 1988-89, 1991-94 Ironman Triathlon winner (see list of Ironman Triathlon Winners)

Stage and Screen

Paula Abdul (born 1962)
American singer.
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording (see list of Recording Personalites with Stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame)
Paula
- Played by Cristina Marcos (see list of Character from Almodovar's High Heels)

The Literary World

Paula Fox
- 1974 Newbery Medal winner, for The Slave Dancer (see list of Newbery Medal Winners)
Paula Vogel
- 1998 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, for How I Learned to Drive (see list of Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama)