Paul

Paul is a single-syllable cornerstone. From the Latin Paulus, "small" or "humble," it belonged to the apostle who transformed a scattered Jewish sect into a world religion and whose letters make up nearly a third of the New Testament. For most of the twentieth century Paul sat comfortably in the American top 20, buoyed by Paul Newman, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Pope John Paul II; today it rests at 264, a classic gently undervisited rather than out of fashion. One clean syllable, no silent letters, no spelling debates. Unshowy, humane, quietly beautiful. A name that will never embarrass the child wearing it.