Molly (name)



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.

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.

Women

 * Mollie Arline Kirkland Bailey (c. 1844–1918), American circus musician, singer, wartime nurse and alleged Confederate spy
 * Molly Bang (born 1943), American Illustrator
 * Martina "Molly" Beck (born 1979), German retired biathlete
 * Molly Bee (1939–2009), stage name of Mollie Gene Beachboard, American country music singer
 * Molly Bish (1983–2000), American murder victim
 * Molly Brant (c. 1736–1796), prominent Mohawk woman in the era of the American Revolution
 * Margaret "The Unsinkable Molly" Brown (1867–1932), survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, philanthropist and activist
 * Molly Burch (born 1990), American musician
 * Molly Burnett (born 1988), American actress and singer
 * Molly Carlson (born 1998), Canadian high diver
 * Molly Caudery (born 2000), English pole vaulter
 * Molly Crabapple (née Jennifer Caban; born 1983), American artist and writer
 * Molly Dunsworth (born 1990), Canadian actress
 * Molly Engstrom (born 1983), American ice hockey player
 * Mary "Mollie" Evans (1922–2016), British antique dealer
 * Molly-Mae Hague (born 1999), English influencer
 * Mollie Hardwick (1916–2003), English author
 * Molly Harrison (curator) (1909–2002), English museum curator and author
 * Molly Hawkey (born 1978), American actress and photographer
 * Molly Haskell (born 1939), American feminist film critic and author
 * Mary Vivian "Molly" Hughes, British author
 * Mollie Hunter (1922–2012), Scottish writer
 * Mary "Molly" Ivins (1944–2007), American columnist, political commentator, humorist and author
 * Mollie Johnson, 19th-century American Old West madam in South Dakota
 * Margaret "Molly" Johnson (born 1959), Canadian singer and songwriter
 * M. M. Kaye (1908–2004), British writer, author of The Far Pavilions
 * Mollie Katzen (born 1950), American chef and cookbook writer
 * Mary "Molly" Keane (née Mary Nesta Skrine; 1904–1996), Irish novelist and playwright
 * Mollie King (born 1987), British singer with The Saturdays
 * Mollie Kyle (born 1886), survivor of the Osage Indian murders
 * Molly Lamont (1910–2001), South African-born British film actress
 * Mary MacCarthy (1882–1953), British writer associated with the "Bloomsbury Group"
 * Molly Malone (1888-1952), stage name of American actress Violet Malone
 * Mollie McConnell (1865–1920), American theater and silent film actress
 * Molly McCook (born 1990), American actress
 * Molly McGlynn, Canadian film and television director and screenwriter
 * Molly McKenna (born 2006), British trampoline gymnast
 * Molly Nyman, British composer
 * Mollie Orshansky (1915–2006), American economist and statistician
 * Molly Parker (born 1972), Canadian actress
 * Molly Parkin (born 1932), Welsh painter, novelist and journalist
 * Molly Peacock (born 1947), American-Canadian poet, essayist and creative non-fiction writer
 * Molly Pearson (1875–1959), Scottish stage actress
 * Mollie Phillips (1907–1994), British figure skater
 * Molly Picon (née Małka Opiekun; 1898–1992), American actress in Yiddish theatre and film
 * Molly Pitcher, nickname of a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth, generally believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley
 * Molly Quinn (born 1993), American actress
 * Molly Rainford (born 2000), English actress and singer
 * Molly Ringwald (born 1968), American actress, singer, and dancer
 * Molly Sandén (born 1992), Swedish singer
 * Molly Shannon (born 1964), American comic actress
 * Molly Shattuck (born c. 1967), American socialite and oldest NFL cheerleader
 * Molly Sims (born 1973), American model and actress
 * Mary Mollie Skinner (1876–1955), Australian Quaker, nurse and writer
 * Molly Smitten-Downes (born 1987), British singer-songwriter
 * Mary "Mollie" Sneden (1709–1810), ferry operator before and after the American Revolution
 * Marthe "Mollie" Steimer (1897–1980), Russian-American anarchist, trade unionist, anti-war activist and free-speech campaigner
 * Mollie Sugden (1922–2009), British actress
 * Mememolly (born Molly Templeton in 1989), British-Canadian Internet personality
 * Mollie Tibbetts (1998–2018), American murder victim
 * Molly Tuttle (born 1993), American singer and musician
 * Molly White (writer) (born 1993/1994), American software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and cryptocurrency critic
 * Molly White (politician) (born 1958), American politician
 * Molly Wood (born 1975), American executive editor and writer

In television and film

 * Molly Goldberg, from The Goldbergs (broadcast series)
 * Molly Jones, from A Country Practice
 * Molly Baker, English name of Naru Osaka from Sailor Moon
 * Molly Carter, from The Young and the Restless
 * Molly Coddle, from Bump in the Night (TV series)
 * Molly Dobbs, from Coronation Street
 * Molly Flynn-Biggs, from Mike & Molly
 * Molly Hooper, from Sherlock
 * Molly Lasch, from We'll Meet Again (2002 film)
 * Molly Lansing-Davis, from General Hospital
 * Molly MacDonald, from Arthur (TV series)
 * Molly Monster, from Little Muppet Monsters
 * Molly the Mermaid, from Barney and the Backyard Gang: A Day at the Beach
 * Molly O'Brien, from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
 * Molly Walker, from Heroes (American TV series)
 * Molly, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * Molly, from Friends and Joey
 * Eva "Molly" Wei, from  Ōban Star-Racers
 * Molly, from The Big Comfy Couch
 * Molly Davis, from Toy Story
 * Molly Williams, from My Little Pony (TV series)
 * Molly, from Annie (1982 film)
 * Molly, from The Bubble Guppies
 * Molly, from Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
 * Molly, from The Basil Brush Show
 * Molly, from Thomas & Friends
 * Molly McGee, from The Ghost and Molly McGee
 * Molly McGee, from Fibber McGee and Molly
 * Molly Harper, from Final Destination 5
 * Molly Collins, from The Amazing World of Gumball
 * Molly Weasley, from the Harry Potter franchise
 * Molly Solverson, from Fargo (TV series)
 * Molly Gunn, from Uptown Girls
 * Molly Cunningham, from TaleSpin
 * Molly Cobb, from For All Mankind (TV Series)

In books and comics

 * Milly-Molly-Mandy from the books by Joyce Lankester Brisley
 * Molly Millions (also known as Sally Shears), from the stories and novels by William Gibson
 * Molly McIntire, protagonist from the American Girl series
 * Molly Moon, from the Molly Moon series
 * Molly Weasley, from the Harry Potter series
 * Molly Bloom, wife of Leopold Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses
 * Molly Fitzgerald, alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero Shamrock
 * Mollie, from the novel Animal Farm
 * Molly Mallard, a Disney character who is Scrooge McDuck's paternal grandmother
 * Molly Carpenter, whose full name is Margaret Katherine Amanda Carpenter, is initially featured in The Dresden Files as a recurring character, but grows into a main role in the novels following "Proven Guilty"
 * Molly the Goldfish Fairy, from the Rainbow Magic franchise
 * Molly, shortened name of Lady Emily Lenox, the sister-in-law of Charles Lenox in Charles Finch's mysteries
 * Molly Gibson, main character in Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters

Animals

 * Polly and Molly, cloned sheep
 * Molly, daughter of Ginger and Rocky (Chicken Run)