Molly (name)

Last updated
Molly
Molly Malone Statue, Dublin City Centre - geograph.org.uk - 5272963.jpg
A statue of folk song heroine Molly Malone in Dublin, Ireland.
Pronunciation /ˈmɒli/
GenderFemale
Language(s)Irish and English
Other names
Alternative spelling
  • Mollie
  • Moli
Nickname(s)
  • Mols
  • Mol
Derived
Molly Pitcher is a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. Molly Pitcher currier ives.jpg
Molly Pitcher is a heroine of the American Revolutionary War.
Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, who was later called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Margaret Brown, 3qtr view, with chair.jpg
Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, who was later called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
Molly Malone was the stage name of American silent film actress Violet Isabel Malone. Molly Malone (Sep 1921).png
Molly Malone was the stage name of American silent film actress Violet Isabel Malone.

Molly (also spelled Molli or Mollie) is a diminutive of the feminine name Mary that, like other English diminutives in use since the Middle Ages, substituted l for r. English surnames such as Moll, Mollett, and Mollison are derived from Molly. Molly has also been used as a diminutive of Margaret and Martha since the 1700s and as an independent name since at least 1720. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere in the 1800s due to usage by Irish-American families and by Jewish American families who used Molly as an English version of Hebrew names such as Miriam and Malka. Its popularity with Americans was also influenced by stories about Molly Pitcher, a heroine of the American Revolutionary War. [1]

Contents

Usage

The name has been among the 1,000 most popular names for girls in the United States since 1880 and was among the 100 most popular names for American girls at different times between 1987 and 2012. It has been among the 100 most popular names for newborn girls in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom since the 1990s, and in Denmark since 2019. It was among the top 100 names for girls in some Canadian provinces between 2007 and 2011. [2]

People

Women

Fictional characters

In television and film

In books and comics

In Music

Animals

See also

Notes

  1. Evans, Cleveland Kent (24 September 2023). "Cleveland Evans: Molly peaked with millennials". omaha.com. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. Campbell, Mike. "Molly". www.behindthename.com. Behind the Name. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

Related Research Articles

Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker, and is used as a British family name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne</span> Female given name

Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.

Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive name meaning, literally, "she who must be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by everyone." Its diminutive form includes Mandy, Manda and Amy. It is common in countries where Germanic and Romance languages are spoken.

Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa.

Maggie or Maggy is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret, Marigold.

Henderson is a surname of Scottish origin. The name is derived from patronymic form of the name Henry and Hendry, which is a Scottish form of Henry. It means "Son of Hendry" and "Son of Henry". In Scottish Gaelic it is rendered MacEanraig (masculine), and NicEanraig (feminine).

Gray is a surname of English and Scottish origins.

Caitlin is a feminine given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as KAYT-lin, which led to many variations in spelling such as Caitlin, Ceitlin, Catelynn, Caitlyn, Katlyn, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Katelyn and Katelynn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah (given name)</span> Name list

Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It derives its popularity from the biblical matriarch Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. It is a consistently popular given name across Europe, North America, and the Middle East — being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions.

Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), Latin margarīta, "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah (name)</span> Name list

Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, Hanah, or Chana, is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace". A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me with a child'. Anne, Ana, Ann, and other variants of the name derive from the Hellenized Hebrew: Anna (Ἅννα)

Johnston is in most cases a toponymic surname derived from several places in Scotland. Historically, the surname has been most common throughout Scotland and Ireland.

Natalie or Nathaly is a feminine given name of English and French origin, derived from the Latin phrase natale domini, meaning "birth of the Lord". Further alternative spellings of the name include Nathalie, Natalee, and Natalia/Natalija.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridget</span> Name list

Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun brígh, meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternative meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of Saint Brigid of Kildare, who was so popular in Ireland she was known as "Mary of the Gael". This saint took on many of the characteristics of the early Celtic goddess Brigid, who was the goddess of agriculture and healing and possibly also of poetry and fire. One of her epithets was "Brigid of the Holy Fire". In German and Scandinavian countries, the popularity of the name spread due to Saint Bridget of Sweden.

King is an English surname. It is also an Anglicized form of the German surname Küng, which in many German dialects is pronounced like king. This originally German form is widespread among American Mennonites and Amish.

Grace is a female name from the Latin gratia. It is often given in reference to the Christian concept of divine grace and used as a virtue name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly (surname)</span> Surname list

Kelly is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a partially anglicised version of older Irish names and has numerous origins, most notably from the Ui Maine. In some cases it is derived from toponyms located in Ireland and Great Britain; in other cases it is derived from patronyms in the Irish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary (name)</span> Female given name

Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία, María or Μαριάμ, Mariam, found in the Septuagint and New Testament. The latter reflects the original Hebrew pronunciation of the name מרים, as attested by the Septuagint. The vowel "a" in a closed unaccented syllable later became "i", as seen in other names such as "Bil'am" (Balaam) and "Shimshon" (Samson).

Tracy, as a British personal name, was originally adopted from Norman surnames such as those of the family de Tracy or de Trasci from Tracy-Bocage in Normandy, France. Derived from the Gaulish male name Draccios, or Latin Thracius, and the well-identified Celtic suffix -āko, such Norman surnames themselves sprung from several Tracy place-names in France.