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 of their own. 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.

# 958 in the US

Paulette Rank in US Top 1000

Paulette Popularity

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

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"