Saul

It is a common misconception that the New Testament apostle Paul was known as Saul before his conversion, and his name was changed to reflect his new identity. While a cute sentiment, this is simply not true, and is even detrimental to common opinion of the name as both the name of a disgraced ancient Hebrew king and as the name most associated with Paul's pre-conversion atrocities.

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The difference between the names is entirely linguistic; Saul is a Hebrew name while Paul is the Greek form. Throughout the book of acts, the apostle is referred to as Saul for some time after his conversion, and even interchangeably with Paul until he began exclusively using Paul in his letters. The shift occurred because as a proud Jewish religious leader persecuting Christians, he would have used the Hebrew form, while during his ministry he frequently focused on the availability of the Gospel to Gentiles in addition to Jews, opting for the Greek form to identify more broadly with the common people.

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Although I personally prefer Paul myself, it's worth noting that Saul is still a name with rich history and more nuanced association than many give it credit.

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And of course, no one should forget the brilliantly played Saul Goodman :)

For those religious...I haven't seen any mention here of Old Testament Saul...he was King of the Israelites, but was disloyal to God, his predecessor Samuel and his successor/son-in-law David. God abandoned him and allowed him to be mortally wounded by Israels enemies.

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Kind of confusing because I've most often seen Saul used to name Jewish males, and I've read nothing positive of him in the OT. Jewish parents would not name a child after a New Testament figure like Saul/Paul.