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oops should be under OP!
I agree that Polly is a very English girl's name. Polly is also a retro 50's girl's name in North America too, so I think that's why it has such a strong connection to female-ness. Very traditionally, stereotypically in-the-kitchen female. My mom always sang me this song as a kid that went "Polly put the kettle on" and now even to this day when she wants tea she's say "Polly, put the kettle on".But....I could see Polly on a boy, if I try to forget my associations with it. Short for... Apollo? Poly has a cool sort of science-y vibe to it, the word for "many" in Latin or Greek I think? PS In the song, Sukie takes the kettle off again because they've all gone away. Just FYI.

This message was edited 3/31/2012, 7:44 AM

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The name Polly always makes me think of Polly Put The Kettle On (I have it going round my head now)! Talking of Sukie, (which we weren't but anyway), I was in a cafe in London a few weeks back with my friend. It was full of lots of very middle class people. Anyway, one woman started calling after her child, Kitty. My friend looked very surprised and turned to me and said "Kitty?! That's a name you don't hear very often!" (She's not a name nerd). Five minutes later, another woman started calling after her daughter Sukie who had run off. My friend's eyes nearly popped out of her head at this. I've never seen anyone so surprised by a name!
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