A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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Meaning varies: the Mary route is uncertain; the Margaret route means pearl.
Molly is documented as a diminutive of Mary and, less often, Margaret; Mollie is its explicitly listed alternative spelling. Mary has an uncertain older meaning, while Margaret derives from the Greek word for pearl. The licensed bitter gloss is not treated as certain or universal.
English short form
Usually a diminutive of Mary, through Moll; the source also records less frequent use for Margaret. A single meaning is not assigned across both full-name traditions.
/ˈmɑ.li/
General American English; British English has a different first vowel.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2025 | Girls | 105 · preliminary | 294 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2025 | Girls | 55 (rounded to 5) | 702 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Girls | 405 | 120 | Published ranks differ from ranks calculated over visible rows. Counts retained; automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Northern Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 49 | 32 | Two rank discrepancies and alternate-view differences retained. Automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 2025 | Girls | 71 | 56 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 169 | 20 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 1,601 | 196 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
| United States | 2014 | Boys | 5 | 12108 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
The exact English entries document personal-name use and the alternative spelling. The unrelated slang and Molotov quotation are excluded. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Mollie, Molly entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mollie&oldid=92438391; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Molly&oldid=93427405. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Molly is documented as a diminutive of Mary and, less often, Margaret; Mollie is its explicitly listed alternative spelling. Mary has an uncertain older meaning, while Margaret derives from the Greek word for pearl. The licensed bitter gloss is not treated as certain or universal. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Mollie, Molly, Mary, Margaret entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mollie&oldid=92438391; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Molly&oldid=93427405; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mary&oldid=93567750; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Margaret&oldid=93393568. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Molly is explicitly a diminutive of Mary or, less often, Margaret, with Mollie listed as its alternative spelling. The intended full-name tradition determines the root meaning. Credit: Wiktionary contributors, exact Mollie, Molly entries. Sources: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Mollie&oldid=92438391; https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Molly&oldid=93427405. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names summarized the documented name route or language-specific relationship. No source audio, images or quotations reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Usually a diminutive of Mary, through Moll; the source also records less frequent use for Margaret. A single meaning is not assigned across both full-name traditions.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
General American English; British English has a different first vowel.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
English given-name relationship. These spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
View statistics source (link unavailable)
View statistics source (link unavailable)
View statistics source (link unavailable)
Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
