names

[carolo]

what would the name 'Polly' be short for in the early 1900s?

[cyanide]

Pollyanna?

[Ethel]

Margaret.

Why, I have no idea.

[Octavius]

Polly is a nickname, and often a name in its own right for girls which was derived from the name Molly. The name "Polly" is of German descent and means smart. In 18th and 19th Century, Polly was a common nickname for Mary.

But why should it be short for anything? I know a girl who was christened Polly. She is pretty.

[chakka35]

Molly was a diminutive of Mary.
There was a game that people played which involved producing a diminutive of a name then arbitrarily changing the first letter.
Thus Richard = Rick= Dick. Robert=Rob=Bob. William=Will=Bill. Mary=Molly=Polly.
The most remarkable explains while Margarets are called Peggy. Margaret=Maggie=Mag=Meg=Peg=Peggie.
Weird but charming.

[spudqueen]

My Gran had a sister called Polly. It was only when I started doing the family tree that I discovered that her real name was Mary.

[carolo]

Thank you folks, in answer to Octavius, I could not find a Polly on a census whilst doing my family tree but there was Mary, problem solved.

[feist]

This link explains it:

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/search.php?g=0&t =1&s=polly

[Carakeel]

I'm afraid you are mistaken, Octavius. Polly is not of German descent and does not mean smart in German. Here is a copy of one of the many explanations of the Name:

The girl's name Polly \p(ol)-ly\ is pronounced PAH-lee. It is of English and Irish origin. Variant of Molly; nickname of Mary (Latin) "star of the sea". Actress Polly Bergen.

Polly has 6 variant forms: Poll, Pollee, Polley, Polli, Pollie and Pollyanna.

Various sites give different meaning of the name from "beloved" to "sorrow" and the like.