NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Molly

A feminine name derived from the Old Hebrew name Mary, meaning "sea of bitterness" or "beloved lady".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Molly is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Molly popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #104, with 446 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2001, with 2,987 births.

This profile covers 47,734 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 15% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 53,426 living people in the UK are called Molly. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Molly ranked #104 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 446 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2001, when 2,987 girls were registered as Molly.
  • Molly ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #28 in 2024.
  • About 53,426 living people in the UK are estimated to have Molly as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#104

2024

Births in 2024

446

Latest year

Peak year

2001

2,987 births

Estimated living

53,426

2026

Meaning

What does Molly mean?

The name Molly is a diminutive form of the name Mary, which is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam. The name Miryam is thought to be a combination of the Hebrew words "mar" meaning bitter, and "yam" meaning sea, possibly referring to the bitter trials endured by the biblical Miriam.

Molly emerged as a pet form of Mary in the Middle Ages, first appearing in written records in England during the 16th century. It was likely influenced by the Middle English word "molle," meaning "small thing."

One of the earliest known bearers of the name Molly was Molly Pitcher, an American revolutionary war heroine born in 1754. She is famous for her actions at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, where she carried pitchers of water to the soldiers and even took over firing a cannon after her husband was wounded.

Another notable Molly was Molly Malone, the subject of a popular Irish song from the late 17th century. She was a fictional figure, a fishwife who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin.

In the 19th century, Molly Bloom was the central character in James Joyce's celebrated novel "Ulysses," published in 1922. Her famous soliloquy at the end of the book is considered a landmark in modern literature.

Molly Pitcher was an American Revolutionary War heroine, born in 1754. She is famous for her actions at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, where she carried pitchers of water to the soldiers and even took over firing a cannon after her husband was wounded.

Molly Brown, born Margaret Tobin in 1867, was an American philanthropist and activist who became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" for her actions during the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. She helped to load and launch the lifeboats, and later worked to raise funds for survivors.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Molly over time

The chart below shows babies named Molly registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Molly, the clearest high point is 2001. The latest England and Wales figure is 446 births in 2024, compared with 2,987 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Molly
07471K2K3K199620102024

Decades

Molly by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Molly was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #81 3,167 5
2010s #48 12,102 10
2000s #24 23,085 10
1990s #24 9,380 4

Geography

Where Molly is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Molly. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Molly ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #28 in 2024.

Scotland
62
Northern Ireland
53

Across the UK

Molly in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#68 in 2024

38 years of NRS records, 3,629 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#28 in 2024

28 years of NISRA records, 2,380 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Molly

  • Molly Penfold

    cricketer

    New Zealand cricketer

    2001-

  • Molly Pike

    association football player

    English association football player

    2001-

  • Molly Summerhayes

    freestyle skier

    British freestyle skier

    1997-

  • Molly Windsor

    actor

    English actress

    1997-

  • Molly Thompson-Smith

    climber

    British rock climber (born 1999)

    1997-

  • Molly Renshaw

    swimmer

    British swimmer

    1996-

  • Molly Weaver

    sport cyclist

    British cyclist

    1994-

  • Molly Manning Walker

    screenwriter; cinematographer; film director

    director and filmmaker

    1993-

Related

Names similar to Molly

FAQ

Molly: questions and answers

How popular is the name Molly in the UK right now?

In 2024, Molly was ranked #104 for girls in England and Wales, with 446 births registered.

When was Molly most popular?

The peak year on record was 2001, with 2,987 babies registered as Molly in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Molly?

A feminine name derived from the Old Hebrew name Mary, meaning "sea of bitterness" or "beloved lady".

How many people are called Molly in the UK?

A total of 47,734 babies have been registered as Molly across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 3,629 more in Scotland and 2,380 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Molly most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Molly ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #28 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.