Paul Petit (1914 – 1981/06/14) was a 20th-century French historian, a specialist in ancient Rome. He was a professor at the University of Grenoble.

Paul Petit's books covered a multitude of issues in relation to Rome and the Roman institutions [es],^[1] For example, in his book Histoire générale de l'Empire romain, pages 178–179, he dealt with the Cursus honorum of a senator's son.