Girls' name · peaked in 1991
Molly name popularity since 1925
171,069 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Molly. Half of them were born in 1994 or earlier, so the typical Molly is about 32 years old in 2026. Molly peaked in 1991 as the #74 name for girls, and it ranked #196 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 171,069
- Named Molly, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #196
- for girls in 2025 (1,601 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.8% girls
- 170,709 girls · 360 boys
- Most popular in
- New Hampshire
- 2.66× its national share
Peak year is the year Molly made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Molly births per year, 1925–2025
1991 was the biggest year for Molly both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1960 and 1965, Molly became 1.7× more common, from 1 in 2,780 baby girls to 1 in 1,660.
- Steepest fall: Between 2011 and 2016, its share of baby girls fell by 45%, from 1 in 486 to 1 in 892.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Molly's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Molly.
Decade by decade
Babies named Molly in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 1,389 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 3,119 | 0 | #365 |
| 1940s | 4,161 | 0 | #387 |
| 1950s | 6,458 | 0 | #344 |
| 1960s | 9,364 | 0 | #264 |
| 1970s | 15,715 | 61 | #170 |
| 1980s | 25,891 | 151 | #119 |
| 1990s | 36,567 | 61 | #98 |
| 2000s | 33,271 | 59 | #97 |
| 2010s | 25,553 | 28 | #144 |
| 2020–25 | 9,221 | 0 | #196 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
31.3% of babies named Molly from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Molly is most popular
The index compares Molly's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Molly.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 2.66× | 1,425 |
| Alaska | 2.19× | 555 |
| Vermont | 2.19× | 622 |
| Minnesota | 2.14× | 6,647 |
| Oregon | 2.03× | 3,248 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Molly and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Molly (this page) | 170,709 | 1991 |
| Mollie | 29,236 | 1880 |
| Molli | 1,989 | 2014 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Molly's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Molly.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Molly (1991).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data