Paavo

Paavo is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name, cognate to "Paul". The Finnish patronymic surname Paavolainen is derived from it.

It may refer to:

• Paavo Aaltonen (1919–1962), Finnish gymnast and a three-time Olympic champion
• Paavo Aarniokoski (1893–1961), Finnish politician
• Paavo Aho (1891–1918), Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
• Paavo Arhinmäki (born 1976), Finnish politician, the incumbent Minister for Culture and Sport and a member of the Finnish Parliament
• Paavo Berg (1911–1941), Finnish fighter ace
• Paavo Berglund (1929–2012), Finnish conductor
• Paavo Cajander (1846–1913), Finnish poet and translator
• Paavo Haavikko (1931–2008), Finnish poet and playwright
• Paavo Heininen (1938–2022), Finnish composer and pianist
• Paavo Hukkinen (1911–1988), German-Finnish actor
• Paavo Hynninen (1883–1960), former Finnish diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Paavo Järvi (born 1962), Estonian-American conductor, and current music director of the Orchestre de Paris
• Paavo Johansson (1895–1983), Finnish athlete who competed mainly in the javelin throw
• Paavo Korhonen (1928–2019), Finnish Nordic skier who competed in the 1950s
• Paavo Kotila (1927–2014), former Finnish long-distance runner, Olympian, and thrice national champion in the marathon
• Paavo Lötjönen (born 1968), cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica
• Paavo Liettu (1905–1964), Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics
• Paavo Lipponen (born 1941), Finnish politician and former reporter
• Paavo Lonkila (1923–2017), Finnish farmer and cross-country skier who competed in the 1940s and 1950s
• Paavo Lukkariniemi (born 1941), Finnish ski jumper who competed in the mid-1960s
• Paavo Matsin (born 1970), Estonian writer and literary critic
• Paavo Miettinen (1919–1985), Finnish Olympic fencer
• Paavo Nikula (born 1942), former Chancellor of Justice of Finland and a former Member of the Parliament of Finland
• Paavo Nõgene (born 1980), Estonian government official
• Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973), Finnish runner
• Paavo Piironen (1943–1974), Finnish film actor, director and writer of the 1960s and early 1970s
• Paavo Puurunen (born 1973), Finnish biathlete
• Paavo Pylkkänen (born 1959), Finnish philosopher of mind
• Paavo Rantanen (born 1934), former Finnish Foreign Ministry official, briefly the Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Paavo Ruotsalainen (1777–1852), Finnish farmer and lay preacher
• Paavo Siljamäki, (born 1977), Finnish trance artist, one-third of the UK based trance group Above & Beyond
• Paavo Susitaival (1896–1993), Finnish author, soldier and politician
• Paavo Talvela (1897–1973), Finnish soldier and a Knight of the Mannerheim Cross
• Paavo Vallius (born 1949), Swedish politician
• Paavo Vaskio (1931–2012), Finnish sprint canoeist who competed in the early 1960s
• Paavo Väyrynen (born 1946), Finnish veteran politician of the Centre Party
• Paavo Vierto (1915–1941), Finnish ski jumper who competed in the early 1940s
• Paavo Virkkunen (1874–1959), Finnish conservative politician
• Paavo Yrjölä (1902–1980), Finnish track and field athlete, won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1928 Olympics

See also

• Paavo, a Life in Five Courses, a 2010 Finnish-American documentary film