In Acts 13:8 we are told that Saul was also called Paul. Saul was his Hebrew name and typically used when he was in Jewish circles. Paul was his Greek/Latin name and used when he was in Greek circles.1 His name was not changed following his conversion (see Acts 9:4, Acts 9:17; Acts 13:2). Just as many immigrants to English-speaking worlds take an Anglicised name on top of their ethnic name, many Greek-speaking Jews in Paul’s day would have a Jewish/Hebrew name and a Hellenistic/Greek name. Several other figures in the New Testament also have two given names: Joseph, later called Barnabas (Acts 4:36); Simeon, also called Niger (Acts 13:1); and Thomas, also called Didymus (John 21:2).
9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him