Molly
Pronounced M AA1 L IY0 (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1991
- 145 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Molly?
Molly is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 224,553 children — the 205th most common girls' name on record.
It has been slipping, down 46% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1991, when 5,207 children were given it.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Mali and Mollie — because they are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Molly and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Mali
- Mollie
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- M AA1 L IY0
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Molly
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Molly
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Molly?
- Molly ranks 205th among girls' names in US records, with 224,553 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 19,964.
- Is Molly a unisex name?
- No. Molly is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Molly most popular?
- 1991, when 5,207 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Molly spelled?
- Mali, Mollie. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.