Paloma

What Paloma means

Spanish, meaning “dove”

From Spanish paloma (“dove”), after Our Lady of the Dove of Madrid (Virgen de la Paloma de Madrid).

Source: Wiktionary, “Paloma” (revision 83833746), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Paloma?

US: Rising: up from #901 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #923 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2010, when 407 girls got the name (#700 that year). First in the US records in 1921.

How common

• About 1 in 4,686 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,470 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 5,964 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NM (1.28 per 1,000 girls), NV (0.54 per 1,000 girls), OR (0.54 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Paloma is #792 in the US and #542 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Paloma were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

If you like Paloma

Girls

• Sophie#55French form of Sophia, meaning “wisdom”^*
• Addison#84Form of Adam, meaning “earth, man, soil, light brown”^*
• Lily#18Diminutive of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Sophia#5“wisdom”^*
• Lilly#252Form of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Bella#136Form of Isabel, meaning “my God is an oath”^*

For a brother

• Cooper#27Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #77 in 2015, #27 in 2025
• Aiden#62Variant of Aidan, meaning “fire”^*
• Giovanni#123Same root as John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Jayden#70Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #20 in 2015, #70 in 2025
• Brody#236Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2008, with 6,299 babies; 1,492 in 2025
• Kayden#135Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1989, with 6 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Paloma’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.