Paulino
A surname derived from a personal name meaning “little Paul” or “belonging to Paul.”
The #3,142 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,847 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Paulino comes from the Latin personal name Paulinus, a diminutive form of Paulus. In effect, it meant “little Paul” or “the Paul family line,” and it passed into several Romance languages as a given name before becoming a surname. The name ultimately goes back to Latin paulus, meaning “small” or “humble.”
History
As a surname, Paulino is especially familiar in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities, though it also appears in Italian contexts and elsewhere in the wider Romance world. In many cases it began as a hereditary surname from an ancestor’s given name, rather than as a place-name or occupational label. Modern bearers may also reflect later adoption from the popular Christian name Paul.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Paulino and Pauline both ultimately trace back to the same Latin root meaning “small” or “humble.”
From the historical record
“little, 165 Pauline,/. Ger. Fr. Lat. little, 165 Paulino, m. It. Lat. little, 165 Paulinus, m. Lat. little, 166 Paulisca,/. Ger. Lat. little, 165 Paulo, in. Som. Port. Lat. little, 165 Paulot, m. Fr. Lat. little, 165 Paultje, m. Dutch, Lat. little, 166”
— History of Christian Names