Molly
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Meaning
pet form of Mary; traditional meaning disputed
The story
Molly is one of English naming's oldest acts of affection: a medieval pet form of Mary, created by the same playful sound change that turned Mary into Molly and later Molly into Polly. Mary's original meaning remains uncertain, so Molly inherits history more securely than a tidy definition. It has plenty of history of its own. Dublin made Molly Malone, the fishmonger of the famous street ballad, into a city emblem even though no evidence proves one real woman inspired the song. In US records Molly never vanished. It moved at a modest level for decades, began climbing after midcentury, and reached a broad plateau from the 1990s through the 2020s. A nickname that stable has stopped needing permission from its parent name. Molly is friendly on first hearing and old enough to know exactly what it is.
The formal names behind Molly
Molly is an established short form of each of these names.
Margaret · Greek origin · pearl
Mary · Hebrew origin · bitter; beloved
Molly across languages
One shared root links 17 names across 9 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Miryam, its meaning long debated; traditional glosses run "bitter" and "beloved", with an Egyptian root meaning "love" also argued
The constellation
9 more branches of this family
Molly in song
Good Golly, Miss Molly
Little Richard (1958)
Built on a riff Little Richard borrowed from Ike Turner's Rocket 88, and still one of the great openings in rock and roll.
How popular is Molly around the world?
In the United States, 9,221 babies were named Molly between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 169 girls named Molly were born in 2025, the 20th most common name among girls that year.
Molly is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Norway, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada, France, Mexico City, Poland, Chile and Spain.
United States
1 in 2,400
In the United States, 9,221 babies were named Molly between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Molly peaked in the 1990s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 320
In Ireland, 169 girls named Molly were born in 2025, the 20th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 740
In Scotland, 62 girls named Molly were registered in 2024, the 68th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New Zealand
1 in 1,200
In New Zealand, 48 girls named Molly were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Norway
1 in 1,300register 2026
In Norway, 20 girls were given the name Molly in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
South Australia
1 in 1,4002017
In South Australia, 13 girls were registered as Molly in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 1,400
In England and Wales, 405 girls named Molly were born in 2025, the 120th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 3,300
In Canada, 110 girls named Molly were born in 2024, the 269th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
France
1 in 12,000
In France, about 55 girls named Molly were born in 2025, the 702nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Molly in 2022.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 girls named Molly were born in 2025, the 706th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Chile
1 in 180,000
In Chile, 1 girl was registered as Molly in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 370,000
In Spain, 121 residents are named Molly, ranked 6,672nd among women, with a mean age of 30 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2022
Molly is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2024
Molly is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Montevideo City
last on record 2007
Molly is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Molly is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
When you meet Molly
Most people given the name Molly in the United States were born between 1980 and 2009. The Molly you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Molly travels
Irish American · star of the sea, pet form of Mary; a warm classic enjoying a modern revival
Jewish American · star of the sea, pet form of Miriam/Mary; a beloved Yiddish-inflected classic across generations
Keep exploring
Names like Molly · Names that go with Molly · Middle names for Molly · Irish American baby names · Jewish American baby names · What is Molly short for?
The Molly deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Molly truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Molly fits with your family’s names and surname.
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