Molly

Molly (like Mollie) is a pet form of the English female name Mary – although it has become a popular female given name in its own right. Mary is the anglicized version of the French Marie (from the Latin Maria), both of which are derived from the Hebrew Miriam, who appears in the Book of Exodus as the sister of Moses and Aaron. So the evolution of Molly went something like this: מִרְיָם (Hebrew: Miryam) --> Μαριαμ (Greek: Mariam) --> Maria (Latin) --> Marie (French) --> Mary (English) --> Molly (English pet form). Finding the ultimate etymological source for the Hebrew Miryam was not so easy. There are varying theories and schools of thought out there as to the true linguistic root of this ancient Hebrew name. After much study, we have come to believe that the original Hebrew Miryam came from the ancient Egyptian “mry” meaning “beloved” (which in hieroglyphics would have appeared as a picture of a finger above a human mouth sitting to the left of two reeds) – from the element “mr” meaning “love”. The reason why this etymology makes the most sense to us is simple: In the Bible, although Hebrew, Miriam and her family were born into Egyptian captivity (hence the Exodus back to the Promised Land). It is believed that Moses and Aaron’s names are also derived from ancient Egyptian words. Aside from Miriam’s Egyptian source, the name has also been tied to the Hebrew “mara” (“rebellious”) in reference to Miriam’s minor rebellion against her brother Moses or the Hebrew root “marar” (“to be bitter”) in reference to Miriam’s bitter opposition against Moses’s marriage to a Kushite woman (Kushites were dark-skinned Northern African nomadic/tribal people). In medieval England, nicknames such as Moll, Molle and Malle developed from Mary and eventually morphed into the modern-day Molly and Mollie which became independently given names by the 18th century. Molly is also occasionally considered a pet form of Margaret (meaning “pearl”), but it is definitely more strongly associated with the “beloved” Mary. Molly is currently a Top 10 favorite in Sweden of all places. It also ranks impressively high in Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Australia. It’s also on the Top 100 list in the United States.