Paolina

Meaning

Paolina is the Italian feminine diminutive of Paola, ultimately from Latin Paulus, meaning “little” or “small.” In the 19th-century name books, it is glossed simply as “little,” and is presented as the Italian form Paolina, alongside related forms like Paoletta and Pauline. It is feminine in standard usage.

Origin

Fun fact

19th-century sources note that Italians used both Paoletta and Paolina, and that Pauline Bonaparte preferred the French diminutive Paulette.