Meaning and background
The story behind Paul
Paul comes from the Roman name Paulus, associated with smallness in Latin. Its extensive Christian history is a separate reason the name became familiar, rather than a different literal translation. The reference shows different English, French and German readings despite the same compact spelling. For a dog, the historical meaning does not restrict Paul to a small breed. An owner might instead honour a person, enjoy a plain human name or choose the quiet contrast with more elaborate calls.
- Origin
- From Roman Paulus, meaning small in Latin. Source
Try Paul out loud
Everyday moments“Paul, come here!”
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About Paul
Recorded as a dog’s name
Paul appears in 11 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/pɔl/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/pɔl/ · primary stress on syllable 1P AO1 L
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.