Polly

Polly is an English given name that developed as a pet form of Mary, following a medieval pattern of rhyming substitution similar to the way Molly also arose from that name. The ultimate root traces back through Latin Maria and Greek Mariam to the Hebrew name Miryam, whose precise meaning is debated but may relate to concepts of bitterness or beloved. Polly was widely used in Britain from at least the eighteenth century and became embedded in popular culture through nursery rhymes and folk songs. Molly and Mary are the most closely related forms.