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HelpRe: Molly
in reply to a message by EJE
I've only known three Mollys in my lifetime:
1. my childhood Beagle, Molly B;
2. a middle-school student (spelled Mollie) who goes by her mn, Jennifer; and
3. a middle-aged woman.
In all three cases, Molly wasn't a nick for Mary. I've discovered that most people today don't even realize that Molly is actually a nn for Mary. After all, nns have been evolving for over a thousand years (at least) and much of the knowledge of how they were derived has been lost. The middle-aged Molly told me quite adamantly that Molly is *the* Irish version of Mary. I just smiled and nodded. After all, SHE was Irish! ;-)
I'm usually a stickler for formal first names, however, Molly (along with Jack and Sally) is so far removed from Mary that it makes more sense to go with Molly as far as I'm concerned.
BTW, I do know a woman named Polly. When I told her that Polly is indeed a form of Mary she thought that was pretty cool and actually considered Meredith (nn Merry) for a dd (she had a son instead).
1. my childhood Beagle, Molly B;
2. a middle-school student (spelled Mollie) who goes by her mn, Jennifer; and
3. a middle-aged woman.
In all three cases, Molly wasn't a nick for Mary. I've discovered that most people today don't even realize that Molly is actually a nn for Mary. After all, nns have been evolving for over a thousand years (at least) and much of the knowledge of how they were derived has been lost. The middle-aged Molly told me quite adamantly that Molly is *the* Irish version of Mary. I just smiled and nodded. After all, SHE was Irish! ;-)
I'm usually a stickler for formal first names, however, Molly (along with Jack and Sally) is so far removed from Mary that it makes more sense to go with Molly as far as I'm concerned.
BTW, I do know a woman named Polly. When I told her that Polly is indeed a form of Mary she thought that was pretty cool and actually considered Meredith (nn Merry) for a dd (she had a son instead).
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