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Dolly

Gender
Girl
Say it
DOL-ee
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#328 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,777 for girls

Dolly is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “gift of God”. In 2025 it ranked 328th for girls in the UK (147 babies) and 1,777th for girls in the US (113 babies).

What does Dolly mean?

Greek: pet form of Dorothy

“gift of God”

Began as a pet form of Dorothy, and gave English the word doll for a child's toy.

Is Dolly a girl's or a boy's name?

Dolly is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 147 girls in the UK and 113 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Dolly in the UK?

Rank in 2025
328th among girls
Babies in 2025
147 about 1 in 1,900 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 9% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 147 girls in the UK were named Dolly, making it the 328th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 340th. Its busiest year was 2015, with 194 girls.

Half of all the girls named Dolly in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 205 girls in the UK were given Dolly or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #262, up from #328 for this spelling alone.

Among girls in 2025, it was 304th in England and Wales and 397th in Northern Ireland.

1996Busiest: 194 in 20152025
Dolly in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025147#328
2024137#354
2023141#347
2022123#390
2021150#349
2020143#340
2019166#314
2018157#331
2017161#330
2016162#330
2015194#279
2014187#281
2013171#309
201293#516
201157#733
201056#716
200943#864
200827#1,176
200716#1,694
20068#2,657
200520#1,280
200414#1,634
20035#3,233
20028#2,231
20017#2,341
20006#2,554
19997#2,295
19983#4,026
19974#3,345
19967#2,201

How popular is Dolly in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,777th among girls
Babies in 2025
113 about 1 in 14,000 girls
Five-year trend
Rising fast up 120% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 113 girls in the US were named Dolly, making it the 1,777th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,712th. Its busiest year was 1926, with 395 girls.

Half of all the girls named Dolly in the US since 1880 were born between 1922 and 1956, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 126 girls in the US were given Dolly or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,439, up from #1,777 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 395 in 19262025
Dolly in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025113#1,777
2024127#1,630
2023129#1,614
2022113#1,807
202187#2,154
202061#2,712
201954#3,002
201853#3,049
201749#3,247
201642#3,656
201530#4,583
201423#5,623
201326#5,141
201220#6,338
201113#8,610
201026#5,245
200919#6,808
200818#7,069
200717#7,390
200619#6,590
200518#6,523
200415#7,386
200310#9,666
200216#6,692
200115#6,951
200017#6,202
199917#5,890
199823#4,633
199720#5,006
199629#3,718
199527#3,873
199438#3,033
199334#3,285
199233#3,337
199151#2,443
199041#2,794
198939#2,804
198860#1,982
198729#3,166
198654#2,002
198548#2,171
198449#2,049
198354#1,906
198261#1,786
198161#1,809
198072#1,605
197967#1,661
197875#1,502
197799#1,225
197682#1,316
197592#1,241
197489#1,226
197383#1,254
1972105#1,084
1971133#957
1970115#1,060
196993#1,153
1968113#978
1967114#951
1966137#856
1965155#792
1964171#797
1963151#852
1962162#823
1961185#769
1960183#755
1959207#696
1958243#628
1957215#669
1956249#603
1955239#595
1954247#567
1953243#559
1952274#509
1951238#545
1950262#496
1949258#503
1948267#497
1947262#511
1946263#482
1945221#485
1944243#460
1943234#483
1942250#466
1941274#416
1940271#416
1939235#438
1938232#442
1937295#376
1936329#345
1935335#349
1934327#346
1933331#341
1932364#334
1931357#338
1930387#331
1929387#329
1928390#339
1927350#365
1926395#332
1925388#341
1924352#366
1923349#355
1922350#347
1921354#349
1920348#352
1919341#349
1918354#349
1917287#374
1916302#354
1915287#352
1914202#374
1913183#359
1912188#331
1911138#336
1910133#343
1909108#347
1908124#316
1907103#343
190696#341
1905102#334
1904102#321
190392#322
190285#344
190180#342
190094#341
189970#354
189872#368
189762#371
189663#365
189570#342
189460#359
189349#386
189251#373
189146#365
189057#337
188962#307
188860#308
188732#378
188654#283
188544#303
188436#326
188324#375
188236#294
188133#277
188021#352

Names like Dolly

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Dorothy, Nancy, Dottie, Polly, Daisy, Cleo, Nellie, Cora, Edith, Ruby, Frankie, Effie

Other spellings of Dolly

Dollie

Names related to Dolly

Dilly, Dally

More Greek names

Luca, Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Lucas, Sofia, Alexander, Sebastian, Penelope, Phoebe, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Dolly: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/dolly, updated 20 October 2026.