Molly, a diminutive of Mary, comes from the medieval names Malle and Molle, and is believed to mean "sea of bitterness" or "rebelious." It was a top-500 girl's name throughout the first half of the 20th century before cracking the top-200 for the first time in 1973. Molly was a top-100 girl's name from 1987 to 2012 (with a few exceptions), but fell out of the top-200 for the first time in several decades in 2023. Brooke Hogan, the daughter of WWE superstar Hulk Hogan, welcomed a baby girl named Molly Gene in 2025.
