NameRealm
Molly

Molly: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“bitter”
Origin
English
Say it
MOL-ee · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

Molly began as an English diminutive of Mary. The base name Mary ultimately derives from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is traditionally given as uncertain; 'bitter' is a common conventional gloss.

English namesIrish namesClassic namesShort names

How popular is Molly?

2024440 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Molly in 20241,465

2024 rank#208 girls

Peak year1991

Total US babies since 1880174,877

Molly is fading: recent use is about 52% of its level ten years before.

Names like Molly

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Maryuncertain, traditionally beloved or bitter · Hebrew
  • Mariameaning uncertain · Hebrew
  • MaliaMary · Hawaiian
  • Mariahvariant of Mary; meaning uncertain · Hebrew
  • Mariebeloved; drop of the sea · French
  • Molliebitter · English
  • Maymonth of May · English
  • Maridrop of the sea · Welsh

Molly questions

What does the name Molly mean?

Molly means "bitter". It comes from English. Molly began as an English diminutive of Mary. The base name Mary ultimately derives from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is traditionally given as uncertain; 'bitter' is a common conventional gloss.

Is Molly a boy or girl name?

Molly is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Molly?

1,465 US babies were named Molly in 2024. Its peak year was 1991.

How do you pronounce Molly?

Molly is usually pronounced MOL-ee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.