Meaning and history
The name means "earth" in Māori. In Māori and other Polynesian mythology, Papa or Papatuanuku was the goddess of the earth and the mother of many other gods; she and her husband Rangi, the sky god, were locked in a tight embrace until their children separated them, a feat of strength accomplished by Tāne.
20062006: 12 births, rank #6,460
2007: 12 births, rank #6,622
2008: 9 births, rank #8,324
2009: 11 births, rank #7,236
2010: 10 births, rank #7,591
20112011: 7 births, rank #9,600
2012: 7 births, rank #9,709
2013: 10 births, rank #7,537
2014: 7 births, rank #9,642
2015: 11 births, rank #7,066
20162016: 12 births, rank #6,726
2017: 9 births, rank #8,140
2018: 12 births, rank #6,703
2019: no US SSA record for this spelling
2020: no US SSA record for this spelling
20212021: 7 births, rank #9,714
2022: no US SSA record for this spelling
2023: 9 births, rank #8,255
2024: 11 births, rank #7,257
20252025: 5 births, rank #12,008
In 2025, 5 babies were recorded with the name Papa, ranking #12,008 among boys.