Origin of the name Paul:

From the Latin Paulus, which originated as a Roman family name derived from paulus (small). Paul was the adopted name of Saul of Tarsus, a Jewish Roman citizen converted to Christianity by a vision of Christ which blinded him for several days. He became one of the great missionary apostles and authored several New Testament epistles. Paul is regarded as cofounder of the Christian Church.

From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman. Buy the book