Pola
Slavic at root, sitting close to *pole*, a field, though as a short form of Apolonia it also carries the sense "belonging to Apollo". Given only to girls, it ranks around 190th today and has been easing off since a peak earlier this decade.
Pola Pronunciation
Pola is pronounced PO-lah (/ˈpɔla/).
What Pola means
Where Pola comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Pola grew from Slavic ground. As a short form it took on the meaning "belonging to Apollo," a sense that reached it through Apolonia, the longer name Pola often stands in for. The Slavic root itself is homelier, sitting close to the word pole, a field.
The best known bearer carried the name far. Pola Negri, born Apolonia Chałupiec in 1897 near Lipno, became one of the great faces of silent film in Berlin and Hollywood. She kept the small Polish name and let the long one go. Because of her, four plain letters read as glamour for a whole generation.
Today Pola stands beside its cousins Paulina and Pauline, with the tender Paulinka for a small girl. On a school register it is brief. A teacher reads it in one breath and moves to the next child. Four letters, and behind them the older Apolonia.
How many people are named Pola
1 in 446 women in Poland is named Pola. 50,532 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #187 among female names.
Pola's popularity over time
2,812 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #18 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2000.
Where Pola is most popular
Pola is most popular in West Pomeranian, 33% above the national average (1,348 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Warmian-Masurian (+27%) and Lubusz (+25%). It is least common in Lesser Poland and Podlaskie, 28% and 16% below average respectively.
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West Pomeranian1,348 girls born+33%
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Warmian-Masurian1,092 girls born+27%
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Lubusz744 girls born+25%
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Świętokrzyskie755 girls born+13%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian1,435 girls born+9%
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Łódź1,632 girls born+7%
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Pomeranian1,857 girls born+5%
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Greater Poland2,725 girls born+5%
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Lower Silesian1,933 girls born+2%
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Opole555 girls born0%
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Lublin1,214 girls born−2%
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Masovian4,161 girls born−2%
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Silesian2,549 girls born−7%
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Subcarpathian1,318 girls born−9%
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Podlaskie664 girls born−16%
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Lesser Poland1,969 girls born−28%
Pola as a middle name
Pola is a first name for 50,532 women in Poland and a middle name for another 4,009, a 93/7 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 157th, between Blanka (4,054) and Judyta (3,872).
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155
4,089Andżelika
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156
4,054Blanka
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1574,009Pola
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158
3,872Judyta
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159
3,768Victoria
When Pola celebrates name day
Pola appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 9 February.