Paulette

French, feminine diminutive of Paul

"small"

Paulette Origin and Meaning

The name Paulette is a girl's name of French origin meaning "small".

It's interesting how names imported to the US from other countries and cultures have fashion cycles based on their culture of origin. Paulette along with cousins Annette and Claudette were the most fashionable French imports in the middle of the last century, only to sink from sight and be replaced by such current French favorites as Charlotte, Sophie, and Eloise. In general, feminizations of male names have faded in favor of gender-neutral choices, and Paul itself is off its own fashion peak.

But Paulette has the same vintage charm as names like Margot and Josephine that are very much a la mode. And far from being extinct, Paulette hits that sweet spot of names that are familiar but not over-used. It was given to about 130 baby girls in the US last year, on par with May, Avalon, Jolee, Liza, and Vivianne. This is three times as many baby girls as were named Paulette in 2000, so while the name may still lie well beneath the Top 1000, it's very much on the way up.

Paulette Rank in US Top 1000

# 958 in the US

Popularity of the name Paulette

• 569 Unique 2023
• 269 Mexico 2021

20 Names Similar to Paulette

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Paulette.

• Belles
• Berta
• Margie
• Midge
• Gertrud
• Doretta
• Gail
• Georgeanna
• Pollyanna
• Phillis
• Suzette
• Irma
• Claud
• Darlene
• Fran
• Fredrik
• Antionette
• Frederika
• Trudy
• Gerda

Famous People Named Paulette

• Paulette Goddard American actress and one time wife of Charlie Chaplin
• Paulette Emma Marie Dubost French actress
• Paulette Tenae Carlson American country music singer,songwriter of band Highway 101
• Paulette Goto American pastry chef and TV personality
• Paulette Marcia Cooper American author
• Paulette Bernège French journalist and author
• Paulette Poujol Oriol, Haitian author, actress and educator
• Paulette Nardal Martinican author and journalist
• Paulette Tavormina American photographer

The name Paulette in Pop Culture

• Paulette Bonafonte manicurist in "Legally Blonde"
• Paulette Roland character from "Call the Midwife"
• Paulette Bolton lead character in the 2016 TV movie "Backstabbed"