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Dolly: Baby Name of the Day

April 29, 2014 By appellationmountain 7 Comments

English: Paper doll "Dolly Dingle" a...

Hello, Dolly.  Need more proof that this is a given name?

Thanks to Nell for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

The 1964 Broadway musical swept the Tony awards, scooping up an impressive ten top honors.  But Hello, Dolly! was a throwback – set at the turn of the twentieth century, with the roots in the early nineteenth century.

Dolly Gallagher Levi is the musical’s heroine, a larger-than-life widow and matchmaker.  The names are pitch perfect for the era, and deliciously clunky – Horace, Cornelius, Barnaby, Ambrose, Ernestina, Irene.

Dolly feels lighter than most of the other characters, but her name is right for the age, too.

As an independent given name, Dolly saw some use from the 1880s into the 1960s.

But she owes her success to Dorothy, a Top Ten staple from 1904 through 1939, and a Top 100 choice for far longer.

How do you get Dolly from Dorothy?  The same way Sarah gives us Sallie and Harold gives us Hal.

But why would parents name their child after a plaything?

It’s the other way around.

Dolly started out as a nickname for Dorothy.  By the sixteenth century, she was a term of endearment, think “sweetheart.”  It would take another century or so before we called a child’s toy a doll.

The toys have been around since ancient days BC, and many cultures have assigned ritual or spiritual meanings to them.  Even though we’ve only used the word for a few hundred years, it is tough to separate the word – and the name – from all of those associations.  You can also “be a doll” and “get dolled up.”

Illustrator Grace Drayton, creator of the Campbell Soup Kids, used the name for the paper dolls she drew for women’s magazine, as well as a comic strip character.  The doll in this post is a Drayton creation – all vintage innocence.

Circa 2014, the most famous bearer of the name is Dolly Rebecca Parton.  Parton’s career took off in the 1970s.  She’s among country music’s most celebrated performers, as well as an actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

There’s also:

  • South London’s Dolly Peel was a smuggler, known for sneaking aboard the Royal Navy ship her husband and son had been forced to serve on, and eventually becoming a celebrated nurse.
  • Daredevil Dolly Shepherd – born Elizabeth – wowed crowds in Edwardian England by parachuting from a hot air balloon.
  • Born into circus royalty, aerialist Dolly Jacobs made her name in the 1970s, and later co-founded Sarasota’s Circus Arts Conservatory.

The name takes on a certain boldness.  But modern parents might think of a sheep. Scientists cloned a Finn Dorset sheep back in 1996, and named her in honor of Ms. Parton.

With names like Sadie having their day, and our era favoring the idea of skipping the formal name, Dolly isn’t an outlandish possibility.  Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell have twin daughters called Dolly and Charlie.

Dolly is still a little lighter than Molly or other nickname-names.  Wearable on her own, yes – and some amazing women have answered to the name.  But this feels like one where I’d want a formal name option, or a rock solid classic of a middle to anchor the daring, darling Dolly.

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Comments

  1. JMV says

    April 29, 2016 at 4:01 AM

    I like the Dolly character in Anna Karenina. There Dolly is short for Darya (three syllable name where Dar rhythms with car/far/star)

    Reply
  2. waltzingmorethanmatilda says

    April 30, 2014 at 5:50 AM

    Dorothy is adorable, but there is something extra sweet about Dolly. This feels right on trend, and is an Australian-British celebrity baby name courtesy of soccer star Harry Kewell and his actress wife.

    Reply
  3. Nell says

    April 29, 2014 at 10:37 AM

    Thank you for spotlighting it! I love Dolly obviously. It was my grandmother’s nickname her whole life, and just feels so sweet to me. I think it’s just as usuable as Molly or Polly or Holly. I’d use it on it’s own, though I like Dorothy and Dahlia. Dolly and Bonny/Bunny actually are my top two names for our next daughter.

    Reply
  4. British American says

    April 29, 2014 at 8:35 AM

    My grandma’s name is Doris but when she talks about her siblings talking to her, she refers to herself as “Doll”. So that must be their nickname for her.

    I prefer the name as a nickname more than a given name.

    Reply
  5. Patricia says

    April 29, 2014 at 7:50 AM

    My husband had a beautiful, sweet but strong, diminutive Aunt Dolly who fit the name to a T. Born in 1917, Dolly was christened Dorothy, but I never heard her called anything but Dolly. I rarely thought of dollies when I spoke her name; that was just her name, no different than if it had been Molly.

    Reply
  6. Amy3 says

    April 29, 2014 at 7:45 AM

    I really like Dolly and Polly. Molly is an old favorite, but I don’t care for Holly. Funny, since they’re so similar.

    Reply
  7. Josie says

    April 29, 2014 at 6:40 AM

    I’ve heard Dolly used as a short form for Dolores, which I secretly like but doubt is ever going to come back, and for Dahlia (which is doll-ya or dahl-ya in my accent) which I could see working today quite well as florals resurge.

    I like it. Dolly Parton is a huge hero of mine, but I wouldn’t want to use Dolly alone. It almost feels so light I could see it being used for any D name at all? Not that D names are so desperately fashionable but…?

    I’ve always, ALWAYS liked Molly but increasingly find myself pondering Dolly, Holly, and Polly. No, not as The Sibset From Hell. Which raises a question – how would I ever choose?!

    Reply

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