Pablo

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Pablo from Latin Paulus. Doublet of Paul.

Proper noun

Pablo

1. A male given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Paul.
2. A village in Primero de Enero, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.
3. A census-designated place in Lake County, Montana, United States.

Derived terms

• Pabloism
• Pabloist
• San Pablo Tacachico

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin Paulus, from paulus (“small”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaβlo/

Proper noun

Pablo m

1. (biblical, Christianity) Paul

   Synonym: Saulo m

   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 79r:

     Sant pablo q̃ ante auie nõbre ſaulus fue del tribu de beniamin naſcio en iuda e al ſegũdo año ap̃s dela paſſiõ de iħu xp̃o baptizo ananias e damaſco […]

     [Sant Pablo, que ante avíe nombre Saulus, fue del tribu de Benjamin. Nasció en Juda, e al segundo anno aprés de la passion de Jhesu Cristo baptizó Ananias en Damasco […] ]

     Saint Paul, who before had the name Saul, was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was born in Judea, and in the second year after the Passion of Jesus Christ Ananias baptized [him] in Damascus […]

Descendants

• Spanish: Pablo
  • → Tagalog: Pablo

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish Pablo, from Latin Paulus. The change from Latin /aw/ to /aβ/ may suggest that the name passed through Byzantine Greek (unsurprising for a biblical name), or it could simply be the converse of the native change from /aβ/ to /aw/ found in cases like froga < */ˈfraβɡa/ < fabrica.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpablo/ [ˈpa.β̞lo]
• Rhymes: -ablo
• Syllabification: Pa‧blo

Proper noun

Pablo m

1. Paul (biblical character)
   • 1602, La Santa Biblia (antigua versión de Casiodoro de Reina), rev., Los Hechos 15:36:

     Y después de algunos días, Pablo dijo á Barnabé: Volvamos á visitar á los hermanos por todas las ciudades en las cuales hemos anunciado la palabra del Señor, cómo están.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. a male given name from Latin, equivalent to English Paul

Proper noun

Pablo m or f by sense

1. a surname transferred from the given name

Descendants

• → Tagalog: Pablo

Further reading

• “Pablo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Pablo, from Old Spanish Pablo, from Latin Paulus. Doublet of Paul, Paulo, and Paolo.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈpablo/ [ˈpaː.blo]
• Rhymes: -ablo
• Syllabification: Pa‧blo

Proper noun

Pablo (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜊ᜔ᜎᜓ)

1. (biblical) Paul
2. a male given name from Spanish

Derived terms

• pabling