The Paul surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 78,256 people carried this name — #415 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,770 people counted. That is up 8% from 72,248 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Paul surname
A male given name and surname in English.
Borrowed from English Paul.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Paul» (Italian), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 8,132 people named Paul.
456 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 100 départements, most often Finistère.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
1,798 people named Paul have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 2,290 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,173 people named Paul live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 1,015 people named Paul live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
798 people named Paul live in Switzerland.
They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 14 births for the Paul name in 1890.
Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In the Nordic population registers
433 people named Paul are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Paul in American newspapers,
1912–1925.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,461,663 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Paul,
with a public archive behind them.
-
William of St Paul d. 1349 · Catholic priest
-
Richard P. Paul d. 2024 · computer scientist
-
Philip Paul d. 1914
-
Robert Paul d. 1762
-
Roger Hewitt Paul d. 1987
-
Emily Paul d. 1951
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Paul.
- Pattin 248 · U.S. census
- Patton 66,293 · U.S. census
- Patty 3,306 · U.S. census
- Pattyn 141 · U.S. census
- Paty 391 · U.S. census
- Pau 852 · U.S. census
- Paula 1,538 · U.S. census
- Paulat 122 · U.S. census
- Paule 835 · U.S. census
- Paulen 143 · U.S. census
- Paulet 167 · U.S. census
- Pauletto 108 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Paul is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.