# Molly (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/molly/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɑ.li/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Mollie |
| US babies named this | 176,487 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 360 / 176,127 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 48,131, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Moll, diminutive lambdacism of Mary + -y.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,616 | 78 |
| 2012 | 3,261 | 90 |
| 2013 | 3,084 | 102 |
| 2014 | 2,605 | 122 |
| 2015 | 2,254 | 144 |
| 2016 | 1,986 | 157 |
| 2017 | 1,829 | 166 |
| 2018 | 1,799 | 158 |
| 2019 | 1,757 | 161 |
| 2020 | 1,645 | 173 |
| 2021 | 1,583 | 186 |
| 2022 | 1,481 | 199 |
| 2023 | 1,437 | 209 |
| 2024 | 1,474 | 208 |
| 2025 | 1,601 | 196 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 5 | 9,688 |
| 1994 | 6 | 8,452 |
| 1996 | 6 | 8,647 |
| 1998 | 6 | 9,253 |
| 1999 | 9 | 6,919 |
| 2000 | 7 | 8,824 |
| 2004 | 28 | 3,426 |
| 2005 | 7 | 9,809 |
| 2006 | 6 | 11,592 |
| 2007 | 6 | 11,884 |
| 2008 | 5 | 13,941 |
| 2010 | 7 | 10,401 |
| 2011 | 7 | 10,404 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,645 |
| 2014 | 5 | 13,403 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,322 | 46 |
| 2012 | 1,434 | 39 |
| 2013 | 1,469 | 35 |
| 2014 | 1,349 | 41 |
| 2015 | 1,215 | 46 |
| 2016 | 1,041 | 56 |
| 2017 | 978 | 58 |
| 2018 | 929 | 58 |
| 2019 | 911 | 57 |
| 2020 | 890 | 54 |
| 2021 | 729 | 73 |
| 2022 | 568 | 84 |
| 2023 | 534 | 88 |
| 2024 | 446 | 104 |
| 2025 | 405 | 120 |

## People named Molly

- Molly Ringwald, American actress and writer (born 1968)
- Molly Shannon, American actress and comedian (born 1964)
- Molly Quinn, American actress
- Molly Smitten-Downes, English singer
- Molly Sims, American actress
- Molly Gordon, American actress
- Molly Parker, Canadian actress
- Molly Ephraim, American actress
- Molly Picon, American actress (1898–1992)
- Molly Seidel, American long-distance runner
- Molly Peters, British actress and model (1942-2017)
- Molly Cheek, American actress

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.