Paula
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Latin. From Latin Paula via German. First recorded in Sweden in 1842.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Paula (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Paula has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2003. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 26 |
| 1999 | 24 |
| 2000 | 26 |
| 2001 | 28 |
| 2002 | 23 |
| 2003 | 35 |
| 2004 | 31 |
| 2005 | 31 |
| 2006 | 21 |
| 2007 | 23 |
| 2008 | 22 |
| 2009 | 13 |
| 2010 | 14 |
| 2011 | 17 |
| 2012 | 12 |
| 2013 | 12 |
| 2014 | 14 |
| 2015 | 10 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2018 | 13 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 11 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 6 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 3,347 |
| 2000 | 3,374 |
| 2001 | 3,412 |
| 2002 | 3,426 |
| 2003 | 3,459 |
| 2004 | 3,456 |
| 2005 | 3,462 |
| 2006 | 3,498 |
| 2007 | 3,521 |
| 2008 | 3,543 |
| 2009 | 3,555 |
| 2010 | 3,560 |
| 2011 | 3,584 |
| 2012 | 3,611 |
| 2013 | 3,619 |
| 2014 | 3,613 |
| 2015 | 3,631 |
| 2016 | 3,641 |
| 2017 | 3,669 |
| 2018 | 3,685 |
| 2019 | 3,682 |
| 2020 | 3,703 |
Paula in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Paula.Hi! My name is Paula.
- Har du träffat Paula? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Paula? She started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Paula i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Paula this afternoon.
- Paulas mamma är lärare.Paula's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Paulas mamma is Paula's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Paula
How do you pronounce Paula in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Paula from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Paula mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Latin. From Latin Paula via German. First recorded in Sweden in 1842.
How popular is Paula in Sweden?
6 babies were named Paula in 2022. In 2020, 3,703 people in Sweden had Paula as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2003 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.