Head to head · Girls' names
Mabel vs Molly
#201 vs #196 in 2025
Molly is a whisker ahead (#196 vs #201 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Molly is holding its place on the charts, Mabel is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Mabel has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Molly leads 3 measures of 6; Mabel leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Mabel #20, Molly #363 — Mabel higher
- 1890s: Mabel #20, Molly #416 — Mabel higher
- 1900s: Mabel #30, Molly #377 — Mabel higher
- 1910s: Mabel #60, Molly #347 — Mabel higher
- 1920s: Mabel #114, Molly #406 — Mabel higher
- 1930s: Mabel #206, Molly #364 — Mabel higher
- 1940s: Mabel #373, Molly #359 — Molly higher
- 1950s: Mabel #699, Molly #339 — Molly higher
- 1960s: Mabel #1070, Molly #296 — Molly higher
- 1970s: Mabel #1501, Molly #185 — Molly higher
- 1980s: Mabel #1575, Molly #116 — Molly higher
- 1990s: Mabel #2076, Molly #92 — Molly higher
- 2000s: Mabel #1850, Molly #98 — Molly higher
- 2010s: Mabel #740, Molly #126 — Molly higher
- 2020s: Mabel #302, Molly #195 — Molly higher
Molly stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Molly has held the lead since the 1940s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mabel | Molly |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #20 | #363 |
| 1890s | #20 | #416 |
| 1900s | #30 | #377 |
| 1910s | #60 | #347 |
| 1920s | #114 | #406 |
| 1930s | #206 | #364 |
| 1940s | #373 | #359 |
| 1950s | #699 | #339 |
| 1960s | #1070 | #296 |
| 1970s | #1501 | #185 |
| 1980s | #1575 | #116 |
| 1990s | #2076 | #92 |
| 2000s | #1850 | #98 |
| 2010s | #740 | #126 |
| 2020s | #302 | #195 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mabel
- England & Wales#37
- Scotland#58
Molly
- Scotland#56
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Mabel
Lovable
From the Latin amabilis, "lovable," by way of the medieval name Amabel.
Amabilis → Amabel → Mabel → Maybelle
How it traveled
Amabilis was a Latin adjective before it was a name, and it became one in the early Christian centuries; medieval France and England turned it into Amabel, then wore the front off it to make Mabel. It was common in England from the twelfth century onward, then faded almost entirely, surviving mainly as the surnames Mabbs and Mapes.
Molly
a pet form of Mary; the underlying Hebrew name Miryam has no agreed translation
Molly's own history is clear — it is Mary, shortened. What Mary means is the unsettled part: readings of the Hebrew Miryam include "bitter" and "rebellious" from Hebrew roots, and "beloved" from an Egyptian element. Scholars have argued over it for a very long time without landing anywhere final.
Miryam → Maria → Mary → Moll → Molly
How it traveled
Mary was so common in medieval and early modern England that speakers wore it down for everyday use: Mary became Mall, Mall became Moll, and Moll picked up the affectionate -y ending to give Molly. Daniel Defoe used the older short form for the heroine of Moll Flanders in 1722; by then Molly was already standard across England and Ireland, and it traveled with Irish emigration into American speech.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Mabel
MAY-bull
Stress on the first syllable. In medieval England the first vowel was short, closer to MAB-ul, which is where the surnames Mabbs and Mapes come from; the modern long-A pronunciation is universal now.
- Mae — The most common short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Mabs — Informal, family-and-friends shortening with a long history in British use.
- Belle — Drawn from the tail of the name; also stands alone as a given name.
- Mab — A clipped form used informally; also the name of Shakespeare's fairy queen in Romeo and Juliet.
Molly
MAH-lee
Rhymes with jolly. One pronunciation everywhere in English; the only real variation is how open the first vowel sits, from MAH-lee to MAW-lee.
- Moll — The older form Molly grew out of; used informally within families, less common on its own now.
- Mols — Casual, mostly among friends and siblings; spelled Molls as often as Mols.
- Mary — The full name behind Molly, sometimes used as the formal version when a family wants both.
- Polly — A historic rhyming offshoot of Molly that long ago became an independent given name.
Who has carried each name
Mabel
Mabel Normand (b. 1892) — Silent-comedy pioneer who directed Charlie Chaplin
Molly
Molly Ringwald (b. 1968) — Teen queen of The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles
Molly Shannon (b. 1964) — SNL's fearless Mary Katherine Gallagher
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mabel if you want…
- a name on the way upup 227 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooMabel is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
Choose Molly if you want…
- a name holding steadyMolly is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Mabel
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough to write early — five letters, two syllables, no silent anything.
- Established short forms already in use: Mae, Mabs, Belle.
- A documented record in English going back to the twelfth century, with a Victorian revival on both sides of the Atlantic.
To consider
- Most living Americans named Mabel are of the oldest generations, so some people will hear it as a name from their grandparents' era rather than a current one. That gap is closing, but it is real right now.
- Mabelle, Maybelle and Mabelle-with-an-e all exist, so expect the occasional need to spell it out — a small correction, not a lifelong battle.
- It is on the way up, which cuts both ways: unusual today, but likely more common by the time a child born now reaches school.
Molly
Strengths
- Already a short, affectionate form, so there is nothing to shorten — the everyday name and the legal name are the same.
- Spelled the way it sounds, and read correctly on sight by nearly every English speaker.
- A continuous record in English and Irish use going back centuries, and still on the charts in Scotland.
To consider
- In American slang since the 2010s, "molly" has been a street term for MDMA, used in songs and headlines. It has not displaced the name, but it is worth knowing that the word travels in two worlds.
- Mollie is a long-established alternative spelling, so expect an occasional need to specify which one.
- The older short form Moll picked up unflattering senses in centuries past — a gangster's girlfriend, a woman of the streets. That baggage attached to Moll, not Molly, and is largely archaic now.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Mabel and Molly in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Mabel and Molly — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mabel or Molly — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mabel or Molly?
- Molly, in 2025: Molly ranked #196 with 1,601 babies; Mabel ranked #201 with 1,522 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mabel or Molly?
- Mabel. Over the last five years Mabel moved up 227 places; Molly moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Mabel or Molly?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Mabel and Molly?
- About 22,500 people named Mabel are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 161,000 people named Molly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mabels or Mollys in the classroom?
- Mabel will almost certainly be the only one in school. Molly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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