Daily AncestorMolly
Molly was a common nickname for Mary, and sometimes for Martha, in American records of the 1700s and 1800s.
Molly is a pet form of Mary that grew out of the older English form Mally, with an l in place of the r. From the 1700s it also served for Martha, and older lists spell it Mollie.
In a search, try both names. An index may list her only as Molly, while her baptism or marriage record gives Mary.
As seen in a recordWill of her father, proved 1812; her baptism reads Mary
Item, I give to my daughter Molly Nettleship my feather bed and bedstead
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Molly." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/nicknames/molly. Last checked 2026-10-15.