Paula

The name derives from the Latin Paulus, an ancient Roman cognomen denoting small or humble. It circulated across continental Europe for generations before establishing a regular presence in English-speaking communities. American birth records first registered the name in 1880, though it remained modest in volume until finding broader favor in the middle decades of the twentieth century.

The name reads as someone who has already resolved the logistical bottleneck. It belongs to a cohort with an average age of sixty-two, shaped by an era of station wagons and landline phones mounted to kitchen walls. A Paula tends to be pictured beside a heavy metal stapler and a drawer of properly labeled spare batteries. The name reached its peak in 1963 and has seen no compelling reason to alter its disposition since.