Does this name suit an adult?

My lovely 91 year old Grandma is called Molly. Suits her.

The only Molly I know in RL is my great Aunt and she's nearly 100!
Lovely name for a toddler or an adult!

Doesn't pass the prime minister test for me.

FriskyMare - why not the ie spelling? That was a pretty traditional spelling. The y was more American initially wasn't it?

I know two Mellas who are both about my age. Not short for anything.

Molly is TOTALLY an adult name! I know lots of grown ups called Molly!

I know 2 who are under 1, one who is 5, one who is 11, one who is 17 and two in their 80's. They all suit their names.

I am 31 and would rather be Molly than Margaret or Mary.

I do know a 9 month old called Baby, now I really can't imagine being an adult Baby, but I could never have imagined a baby called Frank until I met one.

Most of the 'toddler' names people talk about (Alfie, Archie,Tilly)can be seen on gravestones of people who died in their 70's and 80's.

I know a few adults called Molly. Never given it a second thought.

A popular name here. There are 3 in one class of 20 pupils at dc1's school.

There are lots of older Mollys round here so, people will have had know grown up Mollys for 10 years or more by the time your DD is 18.

My dd (14) is a Molly.We love it! (Just don't spell it with an "ie" at the end :o)

I know a 75 yo Molly. Dont think she minds her name.

Thre is a very senior woman in her forties I work with called Moll. You wouldn't mess with her.

Go for Molly. The country needs more milk maids.

I know two; one in her eighties, one aged 15. It's perfectly fine at any age.

Molly is beautiful!!! Suits an adult perfectly fine. The journalist you are talking about is Daisy McAndrew who IMO has a fab name and has a daughter called Millie interestingly enough. In 15-20 years time there'll be a whole generation of young ladies with these names and no-one will bat an eyelid. Ps... I'm a Lucy and have never heard of my name being called 'nicknamey' at all.... Not offended by the way just interesting other people's takes on names

My parents knew a Molly who would be 100+ if she was alive. Of course andadult can be called Molly.

Both my children are known by their diminutives. I'd be surprised if they both use them as their professional names though. Personally I have always liked to have the choice of something formal and something more familiar for family, so I wanted my children to have that choice too.

I don't see that Molly is any different from many other names popular right now though.

It's a sweet nickname for a cute little girl.

Name her Mary or Margaret and let her go by Molly. She can then choose which name she would prefer once she's grown.

Names ending in "-y" sounds tend to feel like nicknames, even when they are accepted first names like Lucy. This is because in many English dialects (and in other Germanic languages fwiw), we use that sound to make a diminutive. E.g. lassie, laddie, kiddie.

...which is also why we tend to tack on a "-y" sound to make nicknames in English. The implication is that you need a "little" name for a little child, but a "big" name for an adult, so you cut out a bit of the big name and stick a "y" onto it.

It's a perfectly good name for an adult. Nothing wrong with it.

I'm in 2 minds about this - if we're talking about anyone worth their salt, who goes out into the world and makes a go of it, well, they pretty much always become 'greater' than their name, IYKWIM. I mean, there are some pretty ludicrous names out there which haven't held people back - Condeleeza springs to my immediate mind, but there are loads of others.

Having said that, there are plenty of names I just would never choose for my own child, because I think they're twee or silly not to my taste, or will date very quickly and, basically, because I'm naming a human being, not a doll. Lola is the first name that sprang to mind and I see someone else already mentioned it upthread. Tallulah, FFS. Molly is nowhere near in the league of these names.

Of course, Tallulah is as likely to be Prime Minister as Catherine is - I just imagine that Tallulah's parents would probably be a bit disappointed in that (hoping, rather, to see her open her own nail technician business and marry a footballer), whereas Catherine's parents would be delighted and proud.

I won't deny - I judge freely - but the parents, not the person.

It hadn't even crossed my mind that it was a toddler name. One of my oldest friends, very professional, is Molly and it really suits her.

Chose a properly mn hated cutesy name for DD but was also a bit paranoid about the professional thing. Did meet a doctor called Mimi the other day though and realised a 'cute' name doesn't detract from being professional in the slightest!

It's fine for an adult, but it does sound nicknamey. It's a diminutive of Mary, so I'd use Mary, with Molly as nickname. Personally I'm not that keen, although I like Millie and Holly, so not sure why!

There seem to be a lot of either babies or old ladies named Molly, with very little in between.

Sorry but stick by my opinion - its a toddler name just don't think it would work professionally. THeres a newsreader reporter called Daisy something who is serious and always think her name just does not suit what she is doing. Honey is another one that fails this test and Sonny or Junior for boys. But then most disagree so probably just me!