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Original poster

Feedback on Molly please

40 replies

MrsSleepyhead · 19/10/2010 13:35

DC2 due in a couple of weeks. We have a couple of possible names for a girl but nothing that we are completely in love with.

At the moment the top runner is Molly, but I'm slightly put off by its meaning, 'Sea of bitterness'. I'm also not overly keen on abbreviated names - but is Molly established enough now as a name in its own right, rather than just a nickname for 'Mary'?

The other possibility is Lily but the huge popularity of this does worry me (not that popularity is a deal breaker, DD is 'Ella' which we loved from day one).

Any thoughts, feedback or other suggestions would be most welcome!

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Baconsarnie · 22/10/2010 09:03

My mum is called Molly and has always hated it. Short for (well, sort of) Mary. She complains there's always dogs/cats/ponies called it. I love it though.

MrsC2010 · 22/10/2010 08:58

I love Molly. Popular in this area though, in my postnatal group there are 2, as well as 2 Eve/Eva's, 1 Ava, 1 Alice...

mollycuddles · 21/10/2010 23:15

It's a great name. So is Lily. Dd2 is Molly and if we have a dd3 she'll be Lily. I loved Milly Molly Mandy when I was wee. I don't think it's too little girl cutesy like Poppy for example. My friend has a cat called Molly though!

Silkstalkings · 21/10/2010 17:37

Think Molly and Lily are fine, nobody would bat an eyelid. Not my taste though, too housemaidy for me, same with Polly. Prefer upstairs names

plonker · 21/10/2010 16:48

Molly is lovely Smile

I know an 11yo Molly and a 10yo Molly (both gorgeous bright articulate girls) and a lovely matronly 50yo Molly.

Nothing 'cutesy' about it as far as I'm concerned.

I love Millie too.

Lily I like less so, mainly because I know soooooo many of them. In a recent group of 20 girls (aged between 4 and 11) 5 of them were called Lily/Lilly/Lillie!

colditz · 21/10/2010 16:40

PMSL Does it really mean "Sea of bitterness"??

That's funny. It's a sweet 6sounding^ name, I like it.

ApocalypseCheese · 21/10/2010 16:37

I like molly. moll for short.

bigbluebump · 21/10/2010 16:35

Molly sounds 'fat' to my ears, perhaps because 'mollig' means fat in German...

SmellsLikeTeenSweat · 21/10/2010 16:32

I really don't like Molly. Sorry. It's not pretty at all.

Reminds me of Milly Molly Mandy. Funnily enough, I do like Milly though.

FoxyRevenger · 21/10/2010 16:28

Definitely not for me - it's one of those twee little girl names Molly/Millie/Holly. Can't ever imagine a middle aged Molly or Millie. It's really only good for little girls and very old ladies.

Sorry.

Teds77 · 21/10/2010 14:24

My Aunt (now in her 70s) is Molly and I never really thought of it as a cutesy name.

I like it and agree it could be used in its own right but recently discovered my Aunt is really called Mary Georgia which is beautiful. She never chose to use this (even as professional adult woman etc.) but I guess she had that option.

Rhubarbgarden · 21/10/2010 08:32

Fine for a little girl, not so sure for a professional adult woman.

FakePlasticTrees · 21/10/2010 08:09

I know a 26 year old Molly - and it suits her and doesn't seem too cutsy! She's a teacher, is very cool and has the sort of effortless style that makes Alexia Chung look like she's kitted out in Per Una... So for me it's got great associations.

coolma · 21/10/2010 08:07

My Molly is 5 and she's th only one we know, so it's not hugely used round our way! Our eldest is Maisie, and we now really they are both diminutives of Margaret so actually we have two Margarets!!

domesticsluttery · 21/10/2010 08:04

Molly is more popular than Lily around here, so if popularity is a worry it might not be a good name.

MaryBS · 21/10/2010 08:02

I was told that in Switzerland, Molly means "fatty", not sure how true this is. Also in the Fens, Molly Men are similar to Morris dancers.

But other than that, I quite like the name!

stenogirl · 21/10/2010 07:50

I know a 21-year-old Molly. She says her name feels too cutesy now. When she says her name on the phone, she feels about 5.

mathanxiety · 21/10/2010 02:56

Chynah -- same impression here.

Chynah · 20/10/2010 22:58

sorry but I find Molly absolutely awful - calls to mind some victorian scullery maid.

EleanorHauntedHandbasket · 20/10/2010 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

notso · 20/10/2010 10:16

[hgrin] Freudian typo there I do love a gin at 10:16 in the morning!

notso · 20/10/2010 10:15

I love Molly, I'm not really bothered by meanings of names tbh, my name means Pure and I'm probably not so who cares Gin.

A bazillion people will say that their cat/dog/sheep/stick insect is called Molly though but never fear when I am Prime Minister it will be against the law to call pets people names, there will be an approved pet names list.

DandyDan · 20/10/2010 10:04

Molly may derive from Mary, the meaning of that is usually "dew of the sea" or "star of the sea", but if Mary is in turn derived from Miriam, then it is possible the name means "sea of bitterness". But I don't think this is a bad thing: Miriam is the sister of Moses who saves and protects her baby brother's life , and is the one who sings a song of celebration (with a tambourine) when the Red Sea allows the Israelites to escape from slavery in Egypt. The idea of seas of bitterness there are superceded by the resulting freedom and joy: a name that links you to that sort of character and emotion can only be good.

Longwinded way to say, Molly is a great name, and it doesn't matter a jot what the meaning is but there's lots of good in it too.

metromum · 20/10/2010 09:10

Molly is lovely and Ella and Molly go really nicely together.

NiceCuppaT · 20/10/2010 04:54

Oh and I know one 13 year old molly, and one three year old but she's in the states....and no dogs called molly!