Molly

#196 for girls in 2025, 1,601 births · Last seen for boys in 2014 at #12,108
Given to girls 99.8% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1991 · 4,652 births
Debut · girls
18 births
In top 100 · girls
21 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
176,127
since 1880

Molly over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201991peak #74, 1991girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1961,601—
2024#2081,474—
2023#2091,437—
2022#1991,481—
2021#1861,583—
2020#1731,645—
2019#1611,757—
2018#1571,799—
2017#1661,829—
2016#1571,986—
2015#1442,254—
2014#1222,605#12,1085
2013#1023,084—
2012#903,261#8,1589
2011#783,616#9,6007
2010#873,362#9,6937
2009#923,510—
2008#1043,321#12,5535
2007#973,415#10,9216
2006#1053,127#10,6626
2005#973,215#9,1157
2004#973,344#3,36828
2003#993,403—
2002#1073,119—
2001#903,415—
2000#963,402#8,2097
1999#1023,326#6,5309
1998#1083,192#8,4796
1997#983,452—
1996#993,312#7,9716
1995#983,382—
1994#953,441#7,7706
1993#873,708#8,7005
1992#834,137#5,6609
1991#744,652#4,76011
1990#803,965#5,3829
1989#933,460#2,10633
1988#863,461#2,86019
1987#972,891#3,95911
1986#1102,548#4,13010
1985#1192,434#4,6988
1984#1312,178#2,95615
1983#1292,311#3,23013
1982#1312,317#2,42620
1981#1352,089#3,60111
1980#1332,202#3,61511
1979#1392,022#4,4038
1978#1421,931#3,8579
1977#1412,067#3,38611
1976#1501,729#3,7249
1975#1701,547#4,7976
1974#1791,480#5,2275
1973#1951,329#4,0547
1972#2261,234#4,4416
1971#2481,185—
1970#2591,191—
1969#2651,093—
1968#2651,020—
1967#2651,016—
1966#265984—
1965#2641,062—
1964#2901,001—
1963#320859—
1962#327821—
1961#337781—
1960#361727—
1959#344763—
1958#343746—
1957#341699—
1956#343654—
1955#344622—
1954#352599—
1953#346582—
1952#332617—
1951#320612—
1950#324564—
1949#328556—
1948#331562—
1947#366484—
1946#370415—
1945#387333—
1944#367366—
1943#366386—
1942#362375—
1941#363339—
1940#349345—
1939#340348—
1938#359329—
1937#369306—
1936#357316—
1935#363301—
1934#369291—
1933#393271—
1932#360315—
1931#370300—
1930#362342—
1929#375320—
1928#381315—
1927#430258—
1926#433255—
1925#443241—
1924#404290—
1923#387293—
1922#396277—
1921#384302—
1920#427246—
1919#400258—
1918#374306—
1917#356310—
1916#336333—
1915#331325—
1914#336247—
1913#345197—
1912#323197—
1911#353129—
1910#316145—
1909#343109—
1908#358101—
1907#324113—
1906#36286—
1905#40171—
1904#39272—
1903#37075—
1902#42054—
1901#39755—
1900#40767—
1899#42447—
1898#49139—
1897#41450—
1896#40949—
1895#42145—
1894#46336—
1893#35358—
1892#37351—
1891#44033—
1890#36946—
1889#41035—
1888#40337—
1887#37832—
1886#40029—
1885#37330—
1884#34932—
1883#32430—
1882#32330—
1881#27733—
1880#38818—
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Molly was already there! It came in at #388, and was given to 18 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1880, when fewer than 19 girls a year got the name.

Where Molly is popular in 1991

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #45 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 168 girlsAKMaine: #36 for girls · 41 births · 1 in 147 girlsMEVermont: #39 for girls · 19 births · 1 in 132 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #23 for girls · 63 births · 1 in 96 girlsNHWashington: #54 for girls · 129 births · 1 in 240 girlsWAIdaho: #99 for girls · 14 births · 1 in 387 girlsIDMontana: #47 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 173 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #56 for girls · 17 births · 1 in 198 girlsNDMinnesota: #34 for girls · 199 births · 1 in 138 girlsMNIllinois: #57 for girls · 281 births · 1 in 276 girlsILWisconsin: #42 for girls · 152 births · 1 in 187 girlsWIMichigan: #72 for girls · 183 births · 1 in 330 girlsMINew York: #83 for girls · 286 births · 1 in 416 girlsNYMassachusetts: #36 for girls · 212 births · 1 in 171 girlsMARhode Island: #50 for girls · 29 births · 1 in 182 girlsRIOregon: #56 for girls · 77 births · 1 in 219 girlsORNevada: #79 for girls · 22 births · 1 in 323 girlsNVWyoming: #92 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 283 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #47 for girls · 21 births · 1 in 170 girlsSDIowa: #41 for girls · 96 births · 1 in 162 girlsIAIndiana: #59 for girls · 143 births · 1 in 244 girlsINOhio: #63 for girls · 256 births · 1 in 274 girlsOHPennsylvania: #70 for girls · 233 births · 1 in 305 girlsPANew Jersey: #104 for girls · 103 births · 1 in 453 girlsNJConnecticut: #56 for girls · 83 births · 1 in 223 girlsCTCalifornia: #124 for girls · 427 births · 1 in 612 girlsCAUtah: #225 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 1,022 girlsUTColorado: #60 for girls · 82 births · 1 in 254 girlsCONebraska: #46 for girls · 52 births · 1 in 171 girlsNEMissouri: #61 for girls · 128 births · 1 in 254 girlsMOKentucky: #84 for girls · 58 births · 1 in 370 girlsKYWest Virginia: #78 for girls · 28 births · 1 in 313 girlsWVVirginia: #83 for girls · 99 births · 1 in 373 girlsVAMaryland: #70 for girls · 92 births · 1 in 300 girlsMDDelaware: #54 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 187 girlsDEArizona: #94 for girls · 63 births · 1 in 410 girlsAZNew Mexico: #243 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 1,042 girlsNMKansas: #74 for girls · 45 births · 1 in 297 girlsKSArkansas: #105 for girls · 27 births · 1 in 446 girlsARTennessee: #63 for girls · 97 births · 1 in 314 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #96 for girls · 83 births · 1 in 480 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #118 for girls · 33 births · 1 in 584 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #86 for girls · 17 births · 1 in 345 girlsDCOklahoma: #78 for girls · 48 births · 1 in 355 girlsOKLouisiana: #94 for girls · 53 births · 1 in 473 girlsLAMississippi: #101 for girls · 29 births · 1 in 464 girlsMSAlabama: #94 for girls · 49 births · 1 in 450 girlsALGeorgia: #113 for girls · 74 births · 1 in 566 girlsGAHawaii: #226 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 841 girlsHITexas: #133 for girls · 193 births · 1 in 707 girlsTXFlorida: #120 for girls · 122 births · 1 in 626 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. New Hampshire#23 · 1 in 96
  2. Minnesota#34 · 1 in 138
  3. Maine#36 · 1 in 147
  4. Massachusetts#36 · 1 in 171
  5. Vermont#39 · 1 in 132

Best ever in a state: #16 in Vermont, 2005.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
New Hampshire#23631 in 96
Minnesota#341991 in 138
Maine#36411 in 147
Massachusetts#362121 in 171
Vermont#39191 in 132
Iowa#41961 in 162
Wisconsin#421521 in 187
Alaska#45201 in 168
Nebraska#46521 in 171
Montana#47201 in 173
South Dakota#47211 in 170
Rhode Island#50291 in 182
Delaware#54201 in 187
Washington#541291 in 240
Connecticut#56831 in 223
North Dakota#56171 in 198
Oregon#56771 in 219
Illinois#572811 in 276
Indiana#591431 in 244
Colorado#60821 in 254
Missouri#611281 in 254
Ohio#632561 in 274
Tennessee#63971 in 314
Maryland#70921 in 300
Pennsylvania#702331 in 305
Michigan#721831 in 330
Kansas#74451 in 297
Oklahoma#78481 in 355
West Virginia#78281 in 313
Nevada#79221 in 323
New York#832861 in 416
Virginia#83991 in 373
Kentucky#84581 in 370
District of Columbia#86171 in 345
Wyoming#9261 in 283
Alabama#94491 in 450
Arizona#94631 in 410
Louisiana#94531 in 473
North Carolina#96831 in 480
Idaho#99141 in 387
Mississippi#101291 in 464
New Jersey#1041031 in 453
Arkansas#105271 in 446
Georgia#113741 in 566
South Carolina#118331 in 584
Florida#1201221 in 626
California#1244271 in 612
Texas#1331931 in 707
Utah#225131 in 1,022
Hawaii#22661 in 841
New Mexico#24391 in 1,042

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Molly
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 12 spots since 2024 (#208 → #196)
  • 23 spots since 2020 (#173 → #196)
  • 52 spots since 2015 (#144 → #196)
  • Biggest jump: 111 spots in 1881 (#388 → #277)
  • Biggest drop: 110 spots in 1894 (#353 → #463)
Rise & fade · girls
111 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1991 at #74 (4,652 births)
  • Births halved by 2015, 24 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 21 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 21 yrs · run 1987–1997
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 403
  • Highest: 1 in 403 girls born in 1991 were named Molly (0.25%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,004 girls born in 2025 (0.10%)
Era · girls
The 1990s
  • 20.8% of all girls named Molly (36,567) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s306#277 (1881)#363
1890s454#353 (1893)#416
1900s803#324 (1907)#377
1910s2,447#316 (1910)#347
1920s2,797#375 (1929)#406
1930s3,119#340 (1939)#364
1940s4,161#328 (1949)#359
1950s6,458#320 (1951)#339
1960s9,364#264 (1965)#296
1970s15,715#139 (1979)#185
1980s25,891#86 (1988)#116
1990s36,567#74 (1991)#92
2000s33,271#90 (2001)#98
2010s25,553#78 (2011)#126
2020s9,221#173 (2020)#195

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Molly in 1991

girls
#74
4,652 births · 1 in 403 girls
boys
#4,760
11 births · 1 in 183,666 boys

Top girls' names in 1991

  1. #1Ashley43,477
  2. #2Jessica43,398
  3. #3Brittany29,093
  4. #4Amanda28,896
  5. #5Samantha25,651
  6. #6Sarah25,233
  7. #7Stephanie22,775
  8. #8Jennifer20,673
  9. #9Elizabeth20,395
  10. #10Emily20,311
  11. #74Molly4,652

Top boys' names in 1991

  1. #1Michael60,810
  2. #2Christopher47,111
  3. #3Matthew41,647
  4. #4Joshua41,226
  5. #5Andrew31,539
  6. #6Daniel30,935
  7. #7James30,514
  8. #8David30,416
  9. #9Joseph29,840
  10. #10John27,809
  11. #4,760Molly11
More about 1991

girls

1,875,007 girls got a published name in 1991; 1 in 403 of them was named Molly, which outranked 99.5% of the 15,466 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 14.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Molly
  1. #71Shannon4,845
  2. #72Catherine4,815
  3. #73Christine4,806
  4. #74Molly4,652
  5. #75Katelyn4,560
  6. #76Paige4,516
  7. #77Lindsay4,483
Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,600Rebeccah#2,600 → #1,000
  2. ↑ 1,221Ieshia#1,938 → #717
  3. ↑ 1,135Miriah#2,081 → #946
  4. ↑ 861Alexus#1,813 → #952
  5. ↑ 676Chynna#1,512 → #836
Fallers
  1. ↓ 568Infant#432 → #1,000
  2. ↓ 510Lakeshia#897 → #1,407
  3. ↓ 466Latifah#701 → #1,167
  4. ↓ 432Martika#757 → #1,189
  5. ↓ 416Cecily#575 → #991

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

2,020,328 boys got a published name in 1991; 1 in 183,666 of them was named Molly, which outranked 50.7% of the 9,648 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Molly
  1. #4,476Xaviar12
  2. #4,476Xeng12
  3. #4,476Zavian12
  4. #4,760Molly11
  5. #4,760Aaryn11
  6. #4,760Abdulla11
  7. #4,760Able11
  8. #5,096Aarion10
  9. #5,096Abdon10
  10. #5,096Abhinav10

Tied with 335 names at #4,760; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1990
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,462Devante#5,382 → #920
  2. ↑ 1,656Unnamed#2,628 → #972
  3. ↑ 1,496Jaleel#2,373 → #877
  4. ↑ 811Gunnar#1,516 → #705
  5. ↑ 672Dijon#1,587 → #915
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,000Arsenio#744 → #1,744
  2. ↓ 773Brittany#995 → #1,768
  3. ↓ 281Infant#389 → #670
  4. ↓ 281Jarret#881 → #1,162
  5. ↓ 273Elton#963 → #1,236

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1991 →