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hello,
i was searching for some history behind the name molly and i found some really cool things that haven't been mentioned before. i would like to see if there may be any validity to what i have found.
the name molly is commonly said to have come as a short form of the name mary, originally used as maeili, used as a phrase in ireland for "wished for child". yet, what i have also found is that maeili in irish is used to describe the process of shaving one's head for a spiritual practice, such as a monk would do. And also, mael means in irish "devotee, or bald devotee". this is of interest because the name mary is said to have not been used in ireland until 17th century because it was viewed as being to holy. perhaps the use of maeili in ireland came about before the use of mary. mael and maeili, being two possible versions of this name, considered a name to mean one who is devoted. when mary as a name was introduced it may have been seen still as too sacred a name by some thus a nickname was often used in it's place. mael or maeili meaning one who is devoted to god or spirit, etc being a good nickname for the holy name mary, as it may have been one of ireland's sacred names before the introduction of the name mary. what do you think? this would make the name molly as a given name a name with a definition independent of the definition of the name mary.
perhaps the phrase "wished for child" came about because of the name's assosciation with devotion? but that is just a wild guess.

This message was edited 9/13/2009, 8:29 AM