How rare is the name Molly?

153,463 people in the United States have the first name Molly, about 1 in 1,968. It ranks #363 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

MOLLY

#363

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
153,463
About
1 in 1,968
This common or more
52.5%
Who bears it

Of the 153,463 people named Molly, 90.9% reported their origin as White, 3.2% as Hispanic or Latino and 2.5% as two or more races. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Molly peaked in 1991, when 4,663 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1991
Births that year
4,663
In 2025*
1,601 ▼66%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 176,487 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Molly by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1990s, when it ranked #199. The largest share of babies named Molly, 30.4%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.

1880s#663306
1890s#663454
1900s#594803
1910s#6362,447
1920s#7492,797
1930s#6673,119
1940s#6644,161
1950s#6176,458
1960s#5449,364
1970s#34315,776
1980s#23026,042
1990s#19936,628
2000s#22533,330
2010s#29425,581
2020s#4399,221
Before 19010.5%
Greatest Generation 1901–273%
Silent Generation 1928–453.3%
Baby boom 1946–647.2%
Generation X 1965–8013.1%
Millennials 1981–9628.6%
Generation Z 1997–1230.4%
2013 and later13.9%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Molly is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Molly has been most common in New Hampshire (2.6×), Alaska (2.3×), and Minnesota (2.1×), and least common in Hawaii (0.19×).

171,633 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Molly

#361 Randall · 155,628#362 Wesley · 155,434#364 Sylvia · 152,900#365 Eduardo · 152,636

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Molly, most common first.

#8,157 Molli · 1,792#25,807 Molley · 365#30,742 Mollye · 282#38,781 Moly · 197#49,660 Molla · 124

Also a last name

As a last name, Molly ranks #81,574 of 156,621, with 250 people. See Molly as a last name

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