Paulina

About Paulina

Paulina is a Latin name ultimately connected with paulus, meaning “small.” It is the feminine form of Paulinus and belongs to the same broad family as Paul and Pauline. Its use across Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Swedish, and English gives it a particularly international range.

A Roman name family

Paulinus developed from the Roman name Paulus. Paulina is its feminine counterpart, so the route into the modern name runs through an established Roman personal-name family. Paulino preserves the corresponding masculine form in Spanish and Portuguese.

The wider Paul family became prominent in Christianity through the apostle Paul. Paulinus was also borne by early church figures, including Paulinus of Nola, a nobleman who gave up a wealthy life and became a bishop and poet, and Paulinus of York, a missionary in seventh-century England.

These connections give Paulina a historical setting beyond the English name Pauline. The two feminine forms are relatives, while Paulina's final a is established across several languages in its own right.

Pronunciation and shorter forms

Spanish Paulina is approximately pow-LEE-nah, with three syllables and stress on the middle one. Polish and Swedish use a comparable stressed middle syllable, though the precise vowel sounds vary. In English, paw-LEE-nuh is also established.

Lina is a familiar shorter form in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Pauline is a close relative in English and Swedish. The full Paulina retains the opening Paul sound and a clear three-part rhythm rather than simply adding a silent letter to Pauline.

Paulina Porizkova

Model and writer Paulina Porizkova gives the spelling a recognizable contemporary bearer. Her first novel, A Model Summer, was published in 2007. It follows Jirina, a fifteen-year-old from Sweden who is drawn into modeling in Paris after a friend's photographs attract attention.

The story places a young outsider within the assessments, competition, and glamour of the fashion world. Porizkova's own experience as a model informs the setting, but the book is a novel with its own central character.

Her later book No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful appeared in November 2022. This collection of personal essays turns toward her own experiences, including aging, loss, relationships, and the public scrutiny attached to appearance.

The two books connect her name with writing as well as modeling. They also show two different forms of storytelling: a fictional account of a teenager's entry into fashion and an adult writer's reflections on her own life.

Popularity in the United States

Paulina was recorded for 574 American girls in 2000. Its largest recorded birth count came in 2002, with 822 girls and a rank of No. 366. There were 390 girls with the name in 2010.

In 2025, 346 girls received Paulina, placing it at No. 784. It remains in regular use, although below its early-2000s birth-count high.

How popular is Paulina?

In 2025, Paulina ranked #784 among girls in the United States, with 346 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 822 in 2002. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.