Paula has been given to about 281,769 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1963, which makes it a boomer-era name.
Paula ranks 855th among American girls in 2025, with 318 born that year. Its best year was 1963, when 10,183 babies were given the name, ranking 42nd. The typical living American called Paula is about 65 years old today. It is relatively most common in Connecticut, where it accounts for 0.02% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.