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