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2025 data, released 8 May 2026

2025 data, released 8 May 2026

Polly

Polly was the 2318th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 79 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 225th; the most babies were born in 1964 (688). Over the last ten years it has moved up 926 places. More babies were named Polly in the 1950s than in any other decade.

Meaning pet form of Mary (from Molly) · English, Hebrew

Say it PAH-lee /ˈpɑli/

Rank in 2025
#2,318 girls, up 683 places since 2020
Babies in 2025
79girls
Girls and boys
Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
Peak year
1964688 babies
Total since 1880
29,708babies recorded

What does the name Polly mean?

Polly began as a rhyming nickname for Molly, which is itself a pet form of Mary, in the same way that Peggy came from Meg. Wikipedia notes it can also shorten names like Pauline or Paula. Mary goes back to the Hebrew Miryam, of uncertain meaning. Polly has been used as a name since the 18th century and was most common in the US in the 1950s and 1960s.

Molly (English, “pet form of Mary”)

How sure is this? Well established. Polly is a pet form; Mary's own meaning is uncertain.

Related names: Molly, Mary, Paula, Pauline.

See also: Hebrew names.

Sources for this meaning

Polly popularity since 1880

02505007501k 1900192019401960198020002020
Girls Babies per year, US, from Social Security records. Years with fewer than 5 babies show as zero.

A few boys are given the name too: 24 since 1918.

YearRank (girls)Babies (girls)
2025#2,31879
2020#3,00154
2010#4,28035
2000#4,75425
1990#2,30855
1980#1,235107
1970#593297
1960#384610
1950#374463
1940#313416
1930#335373
1920#386289
1910#373110
1900#37978
1890#34157
1880#24541

How popular is Polly, counting every spelling?

Polly has no other common spelling that sounds the same.

How many kids will share the name Polly?

79 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Polly (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Polly born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 106 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Polly.

Chance of another Polly in a class of 20under 1 in 50US, born 2025
Most likely inNew Yorkunder 1 in 50 (2024)

Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.

How old are people named Polly?

About 15,800 people born in the US named Polly are alive today, with a median age of 65; half are between 56 and 75. That makes Polly a name most people associate with older generations.

0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980–8990+
Estimated people alive in the US with the name, by age, mid-2026. The darker bar holds the median age.

Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.

Polly by state

How common Polly was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 45 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.

Alaska: fewer than 5 a yearAK–Maine: fewer than 5 a yearME–Wisconsin: fewer than 5 a yearWI–Vermont: fewer than 5 a yearVT–New Hampshire: fewer than 5 a yearNH–Washington: fewer than 5 a yearWA–Idaho: fewer than 5 a yearID–Montana: fewer than 5 a yearMT–North Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearND–Minnesota: fewer than 5 a yearMN–Illinois: fewer than 5 a yearIL–Michigan: fewer than 5 a yearMI–New York: 0.03 per 1,000 babiesNY0.03Massachusetts: fewer than 5 a yearMA–Oregon: fewer than 5 a yearOR–Nevada: fewer than 5 a yearNV–Wyoming: fewer than 5 a yearWY–South Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearSD–Iowa: fewer than 5 a yearIA–Indiana: fewer than 5 a yearIN–Ohio: 0.04 per 1,000 babiesOH0.04Pennsylvania: fewer than 5 a yearPA–New Jersey: fewer than 5 a yearNJ–Connecticut: fewer than 5 a yearCT–Rhode Island: fewer than 5 a yearRI–California: 0.02 per 1,000 babiesCA0.02Utah: fewer than 5 a yearUT–Colorado: fewer than 5 a yearCO–Nebraska: fewer than 5 a yearNE–Missouri: 0.06 per 1,000 babiesMO0.06Kentucky: fewer than 5 a yearKY–West Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearWV–Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearVA–Maryland: fewer than 5 a yearMD–Delaware: fewer than 5 a yearDE–Arizona: fewer than 5 a yearAZ–New Mexico: fewer than 5 a yearNM–Kansas: fewer than 5 a yearKS–Arkansas: fewer than 5 a yearAR–Tennessee: fewer than 5 a yearTN–North Carolina: 0.04 per 1,000 babiesNC0.04South Carolina: fewer than 5 a yearSC–District of Columbia: fewer than 5 a yearDC–Oklahoma: fewer than 5 a yearOK–Louisiana: fewer than 5 a yearLA–Mississippi: fewer than 5 a yearMS–Alabama: fewer than 5 a yearAL–Georgia: fewer than 5 a yearGA–Hawaii: fewer than 5 a yearHI–Texas: 0.02 per 1,000 babiesTX0.02Florida: fewer than 5 a yearFL–
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex, Polly, girls, 2021–2025. Darker means more common.

Names with a similar history

These names rose and fell in step with Polly: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Polly, they share its era and feel.

Middle names for Polly · Sibling names for Polly

Polly is also a nickname for Mary and Pauline.

Questions about the name Polly

What does Polly mean?

Polly means “pet form of Mary (from Molly)” (English, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.

How popular is the name Polly?

Polly was the 2318th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 79 babies. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked 225th; the most babies were born in 1964 (688). Over the last ten years it has moved up 926 places. More babies were named Polly in the 1950s than in any other decade.

Is Polly a boy or girl name?

In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Polly in the US.

Where is Polly most popular?

In 2021–2025, Polly was most common in Missouri (0.06 per 1,000 girls), followed by North Carolina and Ohio.