Jodi writes:
You have helped me name a couple of our children (Juniper Lucy, born in 2009, and Nikolai Dickson, adopted in 2012) – thank you!
We are adopting again and looking to preserve something of our new daughter’s birth name while also reflecting her belonging in our family, as we did with Niko’s name.
We plan to use the name Mary somewhere in her name. It is a family name for us and is similar in sound to her birth surname. One of the options we have stumbled upon is to call her Polly, as a nickname for Mary. This avoids the issue of confusion with several other Marys in our inner circle, and is also just more our style. If we do this we will keep her birth name as her middle name (I should add that the reason we don’t want to use her birth name as her first name is that it is similar to one of our other daughters’ names, but we may end up just doing it anyway.)
My question is does anyone do this anymore? Is the age of putting Mary on the birth certificate of a little Polly over, or do enough people know the history of it that it’s still a valid and legitimate nickname? The name Polly also has the advantage of rhyming with the nickname she goes by in the orphanage, which we hope would ease the transition for her slightly, but we would definitely want to put Mary on the birth certificate because of the family connection.
I’d love to hear what you and your readers think. Is Mary-called-Polly sweet and full of antique charm or just weird and confusing to modern namers? Do people even know they are/were related or is it just because I’ve read way too many name books and blogs that I know that?
Answering for myself, I can say that the only reason I knew Molly and Polly were nicknames for Mary is that I happened to see it while looking at baby name books. If I hadn’t seen it in a name book, and someone used Mary/Polly for a baby, I’m not sure if I’d think “Oh neat!” or if I’d be confused and have trouble remembering it. I THINK I’d be charmed, especially if I looked it up. I have the same issue when I’m mentioning Daisy as a nickname for Margaret: it’s traditional and established, but does that necessarily mean it still makes sense to people now?
I’d LIKE to see more Polly and Daisy for Mary and Margaret, so I’m motivated to back the idea. And I’m also in favor of vintage nicknames, which is why I like Sadie and Sally for Sarah, and Meg and Maggie for Margaret, and Betsy and Bess for Elizabeth. And it seems like the current environment is very open to unusual name/nickname combinations, not only for juniors and thirds and fourths but also for names that have a sound or a couple of letters in common but are otherwise unrelated.
(As an aside, my mother and I were both recently charmed by the Mary _____ double-first-name concept: Mary Agnes, Mary Katherine, Mary Alice, Mary Margaret, etc., if that would work for your situation.)
So what I think what both Jodi and I are interested to know is what approximate percentage of people already KNOW about the Mary/Polly connection, to see how much of an uphill battle it might be, if any. Let’s have a poll!
Name update! Jodi writes:
I wanted to update you on the post you did for us back in April: “Baby Naming Issue: Do People Know Polly Is a Nickname for Mary?” We actually had to set our girl’s name in stone legally on our first trip to her birth country way back in July, but I wanted to wait until she was home safe and sound to update so that I could send a picture!
At the time you posted our question, we had all but decided to abandon Polly and stick with our original favorite. All the lovely comments about Polly really made me reconsider! But, in the end, we went with our first love, and it suits her so perfectly. She is Delphinia Mary Y., called Delia pretty much exclusively. I mentioned in the comments that Delphinia is a near-translation of her original name, though it sounds nothing like it, and I love how it preserves something of who she was before she was ours. She’s been with us now for almost a month, and we’re all totally in love. She is the beautiful brunette in our sea of blond in the photo.
Thank you (and your readership!) so much for your help,
I grew up with a family who had three daughters, all named with a variant of Mary:
Mary Jean went by Molly.
Maureen went by Mo.
Martha didn’t have a nickname.
so I did know Molly was a nickname for Mary, but not Polly.
I also know a Sarah who has always gone by Sadie. All of the aforementioned people were born in the ’80s and ’90s, if that helps.
I knew, but only because my grandmother’s name was Mary and she went by Polly. I have actually considered this as a way to name my daughter because I could honor my grandmother but call my daughter a more interesting name that I like better at the same time!
I love the nickname Polly for Mary. I know it was in books I read while growing up, particularly Polly Pepper!
I know of Polly being a nickname of Mary from this book and many, many others. It’s definitely legitimate. Maybe you can read some books or stories where Polly is the nn for Mary, so that you can feel more confident about the whole thing. I think the reasons you gave for choosing Mary are well-thought out, and it’s a nice way to welcome in your daughter!
I ADORE Polly as a nn for Mary. My absolute favourite girl name at the moment (actually, it has been for years….) is Penelope nn Polly :)
I say go for it. If you’re unsure, you could always name her Polly (birth name) Mary (last name)… or Penelope (birth name) Mary (last name)…. best of luck!
Using the name Polly as a nick name for Mary is charming however, I think it would be very confusing for everyone involved. I don’t think enough people know about the Mary/Polly connection and I think it would be a continued hassle to explain it at school/work/the bank/ etc. It’s full of antique charm but I think the practice of calling a Mary “Polly” has fallen out of fashion and would be a continued annoyance in practice. As an example, my own middle name is Mary and I didn’t know about the Polly connection until just now.
However, this little girl is your daughter so if you want a to have a Mary who goes by the name Polly, go for it! Nick names aren’t permanent, she may want to only be called Mary when she’s older and has a career. If the name makes you really happy, and you don’t mind explaining it to people, then name your daughter Mary and call her Polly.
I knew Molly was a nickname for Mary, but had no idea that Polly is, too. I don’t imagine it would be very intuitive for a lot of people to get from Mary to Polly unless Mary’s middle name was something like Penelope, Paulette, Paulina, Paola, etc. (but that’s just a guess). Alternatively, if Polly rhymes with her current nickname, Molly would too – would you consider naming her Mary and calling her Molly? Even if not many people would know Molly as a nickname for Mary either, it seems closer since they both start with “M”.
I was going to write almost this exact same comment, so I’ll just say … yes, I second everything Calla said!
I marked that I knew from baby name books, but I actually found out from doing genealogy. Honestly, it was confusing as hell for the longest time. I doubt it’s something that just the average non-genealogy/non name-nerd would know.
Genealogy is also how I knew Polly was a nickname for Mary (which caused a lot of confusion). So I don’t think I would’ve known about the nickname otherwise. I do think it is an adorable nickname though!
^^^ THIS! I am here because of the Mary/Polly connection in genealogy and I found myself asking WHY so many girls named Mary were being enumerated as “Polly”. Now I know. <3
I knew about Molly as a nickname for Mary, but not Polly. I think Molly is a little easier because of both names starting with the same letter (and I adore the nickname!). But if you love Polly and Mary has an important family connection, I say go for it! It’s a traditional, if little known nickname, and works just about perfectly for your situation. I think any confusion would be a small price to pay, and she could always choose to go by Mary or another nickname when she’s older if it’s too complicated for her.
I thought Polly was a nickname for Margaret. Oops. But now I’m wondering if I’m just confusing it with Peggy, which I am fairly certain is a nickname for Margaret. I guess I just thought Polly was its own name, or short for Pollyanna. Hmm. I do think it’s a cute name, but I don’t think most people would understand the Mary/Polly connection.
Lawyerish, you’re right, Polly is a nickname for Margaret. I didn’t know about the Mary/Polly thing, and I am going to take a long time to adjust. I don’t know why, given how breezy I am about nicknames for Margaret (Daisy! Polly! Peggy! Rita!), but I will.
I’m not finding anything about Polly being a nickname for Margaret. The Oxford Dictionary of First Names says only that it’s a nickname for Mary, and doesn’t list Polly among the many nicknames for Margaret. I wonder if the confusion is as Lawyerish says: that there are so many nicknames for Margaret, including the unintuitive Peggy, that Polly seems like it belongs with them?
For me, I am pretty sure it was Polly/Peggy confusion, having now reflected on it further. Since I had absolutely NO IDEA that Daisy was a nickname for Margaret, I am clearly not clued into this strain of name derivatives (except Peggy, which I only knew about because I knew a Margaret/Peggy growing up).
For the record, I also thought Polly was a nn for Margaret. The Mary/Polly thing? A complete mystery to me.
I think it’s sweet and a bonus is has a connection to your family history and her current nickname. Mary goes by Polly seems just about perfect in this situation.
p.s. I think there’s a Mary-goes-by-Polly in The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, which I read as a kid. If so, that would be how I learned it.
There is! From a Wikipedia article: “Polly (Mary) The eldest girl in the Pepper family. Polly is a busy, bright and cheerful girl who makes the Pepper family’s life as happy as possible. She loves music, flowers and her baby sister with equal passion.”
I haven’t thought of the Five Little Peppers books for years, but enjoyed them so much as a child.
The other Peppers were Ben (Ebenezer), Joel, Davie (David) and Phronsie (Sophronia). I remember thinking that Phronsie was such a strange name, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it on a baby today or come across a young Ebenezer. The Five Little Peppers book series was created by Margaret Sidney from 1881 to 1916.
I didn’t know Polly was a nickname for Mary and now that I do, think it is charming and sweet. HOWEVER in this particular instance where you have a child who already has a birth name and birth nickname who will be changing names, I think a new name with a fairly obscure nickname is a step too far and confusing for everyone involved, including the child.
In this instance I think I would favour either going with Mary and using only Mary as the name (it is a lovely honour name), or making the first name Polly on the birth certificate with Mary as a second middle name (after the birth name) and using only Polly. I think the vast majority of people would have no idea the two names are connected. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I thought that Polly was a nickname for Margaret, but Mary also works in my head.
I’m a name nerd who did not know Polly was a nickname for Molly, and now that I do, I find it weird. (I did know that Molly is a nickname for Mary). But that being said, I don’t care for nicknames in the first place and am in the camp that thinks you should name a child what you want to call them. I know people have strong opinions about this and that you should do what works for your family, choosing the best option that works for your daughter and her pervious name situation. I personally do like just Mary or just Polly! Congratulations on your adoption!
To start, I love Polly. I did not know it was a nickname for Mary, but it does not surprise me.
Also, my kids go to school with a sib set of Mary and Margaret who go by Molly and Daisy. I was aware of these as traditional known nicknames bc of my own name nerdiness. My kids also go to school with a Mary-Second Name (it’s quite an unusual name, which adds to the charm of a double middle name imho)
Once I read that there were something like a total of 5 names a few hundred years ago in England. Mary, Margaret, Elizabeth, and I forget the rest. And thus began the need for many nicknames. Maybe I read that here even!
Anyway, we almost named a baby Margaret bc of indecision but ended up not bc of one my own personal rules — don’t give a baby a name unless you love all the most popular nicknames bc the baby will someday choose the nickname (or formal name) that you originally disliked.
Thomas Jefferson’s two daughters were called Patsy (given name Martha) and Polly (given name Maria). Those diminutives for Martha and Mary/Maria were very common in colonial America. I’ve long had an interest in the history of that period and thus have known this name connection since I was a young girl.
I like the name Polly very much, but would probably not name a daughter Mary and call her Polly: the names just sound too different these days. Even most Mollys (also from Mary) aren’t named Mary now but just Molly. (I would more likely use Paula if I wanted a more formal name for “Polly”.)
But since you want to use Mary as part of her name, I think calling her “Polly” would be fine. You will probably have to inform others that Polly is one of the traditional nicknames for Mary.
(And congratulations on your new daughter-to-be. Will she be your 7th child? Been there, done that, and now I don’t know how I ever coped with so many children so close in age. Best wishes!)
I knew Polly was a nickname for Mary and think you’d be fine using it. I know enough kids that go by something other than their first name that as long as you plan on introducing her as “My daughter Polly” and not “My daughter Mary, buy she goes by Polly” you’ll be fine. Most people will have no idea her name is actually Mary. Please don’t use both Polly and Mary in her legal name though. Because you recognize the nickname connection, it feels too much like naming a son Jim James LN.
Oh, go for it! It fits your style and your needs.
I knew Polly was a nickname, and between “it’s traditional / we’re from the UK” and “Mary’s a family name” I think you have all the angles covered. I would love to hear her given name, when you update us.
I picked the didn’t know and think it’s confusing option. And while I do think it’s a bit confusing, I think if it’s something you really like then you should go for it. Most people will not even realize that her given name is Mary since she’ll introduce herself as Polly, so it won’t be confusing for them.
I do really like Calla’s suggestion about how Molly would also rhyme and is potentially less confusing. Molly is also a super adorable name (I associate it with the American Girl).
I knew about the Mary-Polly connection from the delightful Louisa May Alcott book “An Old Fashioned Girl”. Country girl Polly Milton goes to the big city to visit her sophisticated cousins Fanny, Tom, and Maud and has quite the time of it. I think the name is absolutely charming, and so is the story.
I feel I must quote this little excerpt from the book (more proof that Louisa Alcott was a name nerd too!):
“Polly, I wish you’d let me call you Marie,” said Fanny one day as they were shopping together.
“You may call me Mary, if you like, but I won’t have any ie put on to my name. I’m Polly at home, and I’m fond of being called so, but Marie is Frenchified and silly.”
“I spell my own name with an ie, and so do all the girls.”
“And what a jumble of Netties, Nellies, Hatties, and Sallies there is. How ‘Pollie’ would look spelt so!”
I was a didn’t know/sweet and charming vote. I say go for it. People’s not-knowing is no reason to avoid doing it, imho.
Polly was our in-utero name for our daughter. In our case, it came from a male ancestor’s name Hippolyte, whose nickname was Polly. (Can you imagine North Dakotans trying to pronounce the Swiss-French name? Pron. /EE-pol-EET/) Hippolyta was the queen of the Amazons in Greek myth. Had I known the Mary/Polly connection, I might have made more of a case for doing it that way: my husband’s paternal nana was Mary. Ironically, my FIL didn’t like the name “Polly.” That wasn’t the ultimate decider, but it was too bad.
We put all the names on the fridge. I documented it on the blog and flickr: I see from the comments that one of the ones you liked was Polly, Swistle! :)
As it turned out, we named her Joni after my mom (Joan), which is perfect for her. A nickname we often use for her is “Jones.” Sorry for the ramble. Congratulations!
I knew from children’s literature, and I think it’s charming. I like Molly, too. Especially because of the story of Mary “Molly” Jamison.
I think Polly is ADORABLE and fits so well in your family… and I’ve been following your family and blog since it was just baby #1 and baby #2!! :)
And honestly, I don’t think you will run into too many people in life who find it ‘too confusing’… I just don’t see what is so difficult about “This is my daughter Mary Surname… she goes by Polly!”… seems pretty straightforward to me :)
The other thing is that, frankly, you won’t have to introduce her on a day-to-day basis as, “This is Mary R(birthname) Jodillightful, but we call her Polly.” You can just say, “This is my daughter Polly.”
I love these old school nicknames. Random fact that may help you remember daisy/margaret: Daisy (the flower) in french is marguerite, hence the nickname :-)
And the evolution of Mary -> Molly -> Polly makes Polly make more sense. Does it help if you know that /l/ and /r/ are incredibly phonetically similar and often evolve into one another? And that /r/ to /l/ combined with a pretty common place vowel shift makes it flow pretty naturally? And then M -> P. Both bilabial sounds, going from a nasal to a voiceless stop.
I’m trying to sell everyone on this nickname evolution based on linguistics (which is what it’s actually based on) but I suppose if you aren’t buying it, you aren’t buying it.
I have a daughter named Mary, who goes by Molly. The only issue I would suggest you consider is that in filling out the interminable school forms, you’ll have to put: Mary (“Polly”) Lastname, to make sure they understand Polly is the same kid as Mary. I’m also aware of the Molly/Polly nicknames from researching genealogy. Mary was the most popular girl’s name for 150 years, or something like that, so many families had multiple Marys and had to come up with nicknames to differentiate them. Nowadays, Mary is rarely used as a first name. I liked it because my mother is a Marian, and my mil is a Marie, while my fil’s mother was a bonafide Mary.
I named my daughter Molly because Mary was already taken in our family. I knew long before I had her that Molly was a nickname, but wasn’t aware of the Polly connection. We’re Catholic tho, and I think that it is well known in the circles we run in.
I would encourage you to go with whatever name you plan on calling her. For example Mary Katherine with a nn of MaryKate sounds great.. until she is in school and the teachers just call her Mary and she needs to correct them.
I think there is a mixup here between Margaret “Peggy” (with Meggie or Maggie pronounced as ‘Meggie’ being the link) and Mary “Polly” (with Molly being the link in the evolution of that name). I don’t think Polly has ever been a standard/usual nickname for Margaret.
Penguin Reference Dictionary of First Names explains that Polly is a variant of Mary, influenced by Molly. “This familiar form of Mary has been known for several centuries, as illustrated by its use in ‘Polly put the kettle on’ and other traditional nursery rhymes…” Nothing is mentioned about a connection to Margaret in the paragraph about the name Polly.
And in E.G. Withycombe’s classic Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 1945 Great Britain, the author says of Polly, : “see Mary.” Under Mary she explains that” Mally, which was formerly much commoner than Molly, died out at the end of the 18th C. Polly is a rhyming nickname from Molly.”
Britishbabynames.com explains: “Many of the standard diminutives we are familiar with came about in different ways, and with routes back to the Middle Ages. Some come directly from the first syllable (William > Will) and some look more like a rearrangement of letters (Dorothy> Dot). Others are taken from one of the syllable sounds, had a letter changed, and slowly morphed over time by replacing letters.
For example:
Mary > Mall > Moll > Molly > Polly
Martha > Matty > Patty”
And there we have the names of Thomas Jefferson’s two daughters: Martha “Patsy” and Maria “Polly”.
I knew about the Polly/Mary connection and I think it’s charming and sweet. I had forgotten about it, though, and have just added it to my favorite names list!
I think if you want to name your daughter Mary Birthname Last and call her Polly, that works. But if you want to name her Birthname Mary Last, I think the Polly connection might be too tenuous.
That would be my only concern, as I’m a big proponent of vintage nicknames. (Meg for Margaret is my favorite!)
Good luck! :)
I vaguely knew the Polly/Mary connection, but do worry too that it will be confusing today, but think your reasons are pretty solid for using it.
But the one thing I am loving is the discussion of old nicknames and how they came about. That would be a fascinating post Swistle!
The nickname “Molly” was/is used for both Mary and Margaret. Apparently, the whole Molly/Polly names come from the middle ages when “M” and “P” were often interchangeable. Thus, at some point, both Molly and Polly became shortened versions of these names.
I think it’s a cute name! Makes me think of Pollyanna.
All the best!
I immediately thought of Pollyanna. My middle name is Pauline and I hate it so I dislike Polly for that reason, but also since Pollyanna was an orphan, consider whether that’s an association you’re comfortable with.
I think you should just call your daughter Polly.
I didn’t know the Mary /Polly connection however I know all the derivatives of Margaret as it is my mothers name and would love to use one of them for a daughter one day so I don’t find the seemingly unrelated nicknames too strange.
What I do find strange is naming the child Mary then saying ‘but we only ever want to call her Polly’ just call her Polly! I think it is such a delightful name and you can always tell your daughter and close family and friends the many wonderful reasons and connections to her name including the Mary connection.
I grew up being told the stories behind my names and was always proud of the reasons why my parents chose my names compared to other children who had no story or reason other than their parents liked it.
I would think that this name story may also be more meaningful to an adopted child as it would give her a strong sense of belonging and connection to her own little life history as it sounds like it will connect her biological family with her family at the orphanage to your family as well.
All the best
I don’t think there would be too much of a problem if you decided to go with her birth name, used Mary as a middle name, and called her Polly anyway. There are many people who go by their middle name or a nickname for it.
My grandmother was Muriel Ellen Evans but was known as Nell Evans.
The nickname “Polly” either way is great!
I wish I had the will power just to stay out of these discussions, but I enjoy them so much that I always end up jumping in to answer a couple things and end up giving a ton more information.
First of all, yes, we do like Molly (though not as much as Polly) and did consider it for its greater simplicity, but my cousin just named her baby Molly within the last year, so it’s out.
Her birthname starts with “Rolly” and that is the nickname she currently goes by. We have a Romilly, so that’s kind of out, too. Considered leaving her birth name as is with nickname Lolly, but my husband was pretty meh on that.
I hesitated to mention the other option that we are considering in my original question, because I really just wanted to hear thoughts on Mary/Polly, but now I will, since I really value the collective good taste of this group. Her birth name is a flower name in her native language which translates in English to the Larkspur or Delphinium flower (as in, if you type her name into google translate it actually gives you larkspur, not just in the way that Margaret means daisy). So we have thought to name her Delphinia Mary and call her Delia, and in fact this has been the frontrunner for most of our adoption process.
As an aside: I am not as worried about a name change this time around, since Niko went by “Kolya” in his orphange and happily answered to Niko from the moment my husband took him out of the orphanage. I think when kids are learning a whole new language anyway, they just accept that, okay, this is the English word for me. So, while it would be nice to have it sound a little like what she’s used to, I’m more concerned with finding a name we love that honors who she is as well, which I think Delphinia also does, in a different way.
So we love them both, with Polly feeling a little bit more ‘her’ and Delia feeling a little bit more ‘us’. I’ve been sitting squarely on the fence for about three weeks now, so I’d love to hear all your thoughts on that, too.
Jodi, I read about your new little girl on your blog. What a sweet story of how she ‘chose’ your family and what a pretty little girl she is. All things considered though, I would suggest that you either continue to call her Rolly or a name very similar to Rolly. Polly seems perfect. I think you’re right that Delphinium called Delia would be more you than her. It would seem that a simpler name would be easier for her to learn and respond to, that a name that sounds similar to Rolly would work better for this little girl. Polly seems more ‘you’ than Rolly, and I think Polly would be an excellent choice for your new daughter and your family all around.
I looked at Telegraph birth announcements for ideas for you and found 3 baby girls named Polly who also have Mary somewhere in their name:
Polly Martha Rosemary
Polly Elizabeth Mary
Polly Mary.
I wouldn’t recommend Polly Mary, but how about:
Polly Rosemary
*Polly Delphinium Mary
Pollyanna Mary
(*I’m guessing that each of your children has only one middle name, but this little girl has her own unique story and needs, and I see no reason not to name her according to that. Each of these names — Polly, Delphinium and Mary –is a special part of her story. )
Having adopted 3 school-age children internationally, I know that kids learning a new language can accept a new name from that language too. But it seems that Rolly has some special needs that may cause the complete change in her environment, daily life, family, language, etc. to be even more of a challenge for her than it was for your Niko or the 3 older kids we adopted. It would seem comforting for her not to have to give up her name too, but either continue to be called Rolly or the sound-alike Polly.
I love Delphinia Mary with your other children’s names. It really fits beautifully. And I love Delia. I do, however think she looks more like a Polly. I know you don’t like the same initials, so would that be a problem with your oldest? I also think you are, how do I say it, ahead of the curb with your naming style. I would be willing to bet that if you name her Mary and call her Polly, it won’t be long until most name nerds are charmed. And I would like to add that I think you could name her Delphinia Mary and still call her Polly. Nicknames are just that, nicknames. Praying that the adoption goes through smoothly.
There is the Carolina Larkspur plant. Carolina with the nn Rolly is cute.
Delphine is also pretty. Very similar to Delphinia and both derived from the Greek word for dolphin. Either of these would work with the nn Dolly.
When I saw the name Rolly it brought the nn Yolly, short for Yolanda, to mind. Yolanda is a great name that means violet or flower. The violet is purple like many larkspur too!
Hope this helps!
Or Larkspur with a nn Lolly?
I have a Polly! It’s her given name, not a nickname, although we came across it looking for nn for Petra. I am in the name-the-kid-what-you-call-the-kid camp, so we went with Polly. And, if it helps you at all, we have received nothing but delightful responses to Polly’s name.
Still loving Polly. Also love Delia but really want to suggest Delphi. I too have read some of your story now and I’ve seen Little Lady’s picture and I really think that she suits all three of these names. Tough choice but really loving Polly, Delia and Delphi. Not sure if you are interested in Ancient Greek history but the oracle at Delphi has some pretty cool stories also delphiniums and larkspurs are sooooo pretty I think either way t should feature in her name. P.s she is super cute!
I see everything through the Swistle Name Blog filter now.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/polly-roosevelt-church-member/2013/04/27/6e0cecbe-ae88-11e2-98ef-d1072ed3cc27_story.html
YEAH BABY
Yay, I finally got to vote in a poll! (I’ve been stalking the archives here to kill time before my anatomy scan in 3 weeks.)
I knew about Mary/Polly from children’s literature since I was very small. (In “Black Beauty”, Jerry the Cabby’s wife is Mary/Polly, but I knew about it before I read that book because I remember being puzzled for a second and then thinking, “Oh, right, Polly is a nickname for Mary.”) I didn’t know about Daisy/Margaret until I was a teenager and read the sequels to “Little Women,” but now I lump it in the same category as Mary-called-Polly: I’d find it pleasantly surprising and creative without being weird if I encountered it on a modern little girl.
Beautiful family! I love her name and wish you all much happiness.
I LOVE this picture and the fact that all seven of the kids fit on the couch. I just re-read the older posts. You have a beautiful family and a great selection of names!
I have proof there are (or were) people who went by both Polly and Mary based on genealogical records from the 1700 – 1800s. I decided to google Polly as a nickname for Mary when I discovered a second ancestor (unrelated to each other) listed as Mary or Polly in various records throughout their lifetimes, (census, marriage, birth, death records, etc.)