Polly

This article is about the given name. For other uses, see Polly (disambiguation).

Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (a diminutive of Mary).[1] Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina, Polona, Pauline, Paula or Paulina.

## People

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### Female

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#### Given name

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* PJ Harvey (born 1969), English singer/songwriter
* Polly Apfelbaum (born 1955), American contemporary visual artist
* Polly Arnold (born 1972), British academic
* Polly Baca (born 1941), American politician
* Polly Bartlett, American serial killer, perhaps fictitious
* Polly Barton, American textile artist
* Polly Bemis (1853–1933), Chinese-American pioneer
* Polly Bennett (1922–2003), American artist
* Polly Berry (c. 1818–c. 1870–1880), also known as Polly Crockett and Polly Wash, African-American slave who successfully sued for her freedom and that of her daughter
* Polly Borland (born 1959), Australian photographer
* Polly Bradfield (fl. 1977–1986), American violinist
* Polly Brown (born 1947), English singer
* Polly Draper (born 1955), American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
* Polly Dunbar (born 1977), British author and illustrator
* Polly Emery (1875–1958), British actress
* Polly Gage (1805–1882), namesake of Aunt Polly's Wash Tub
* Polly Granzow (born 1941), American politician
* Polly Guerin (died 2021), American writer
* Polly Hill (economist) (1914–2005), British economic historian
* Polly Holliday (born 1937), American actress
* Polly Horvath (born 1957), Canadian author
* Polly Irungu, Kenyan-American photographer and journalist
* Polly James (broadcaster) (born 1986 or 1987), Welsh radio and television presenter
* Polly James (screenwriter) (fl. 1940s–1950s), American screen writer
* Polly Klaas (1981–1993), American teen murder victim
* Polly Maberly (born 1976), English actress
* Polly Matzinger (born 1947), French immunologist
* Polly Allen Mellen (1924–2024), American stylist and fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue
* Polly Nelson (born 1952), American attorney and author
* Polly Pattullo, British author, journalist, editor and publisher
* Polly Paulusma (born 1976), English singer-songwriter
* Polly Renton (1970–2010), British documentary film maker
* Polly Riley (1926–2002), American amateur golfer
* Polly Samson (born 1962), English journalist and writer
* Polly Scattergood (born 1986), English singer-songwriter
* Polly Shannon (born 1973), Canadian actress
* Polly Smith (inventor), (born 1949), American costume designer, inventor of the sports bra
* Polly Stenham (born 1986), English playwright
* Polly Stockton (born 1973), British event (horse) rider
* Polly Swann (born 1988), British rower and world champion in the women's coxless pairs
* Polly Sy, Filipino mathematician
* Polly Teale (born 1962), British writer and theater director
* Polly Walker (born 1966), English actress
* Polly Ann Young (1908–1997), American actress, sister of Loretta Young
* Polly Young (1749–1799), English soprano, composer and keyboard player

#### Nickname

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* Caresse Crosby (1891–1970), American art patron, poet, publisher, peace activist and inventor of the first modern brassiere to receive a patent and gain wide acceptance
* Mary Jefferson Eppes (1778–1804), a daughter of Thomas Jefferson, known as Polly during her childhood
* Mary Ann Nichols (1845–1888), a victim of the Whitechapel murders attributed to Jack the Ripper
* Polly Adams (born 1939), English actress
* Polly Adler (1900–1962), Russian-born American madam and author
* Polly Bergen (1930–2014), American actress and singer
* Polly Craus (1923–2006), American fencer
* Polly Elwes (1928–1987), British television presenter and actress
* Polly Hill (horticulturist) (1907–2007), American horticulturist
* Polly Knipp Hill (1900–1990), American artist
* Polly James (born 1941), British actress
* Polly Lada-Mocarski (1902–1997), American bookbinder, inventor and rare book scholar
* Lam Po Kuen (born 1982), also known as Polly Lam, Hong Kong former tennis player
* Polly Marshall (1932–1995), English cricketer
* Polly Moran (1883–1952), American actress and comedian
* Polly Platt (1939–2011), American film producer, production designer and screenwriter
* Polly Powrie (born 1987), New Zealand sailor
* Polly Rosenbaum (1899–2003), American politician and teacher
* Polly Rowles (1914–2001), American actress
* Polly Shackleton (1910–1997), American politician
* Polly Smith (photographer) (1908–1980), American photographer
* Polly Toynbee (born 1946), British journalist and writer
* Polly Lauder Tunney (1907–2008), American philanthropist and socialite, wife of boxer Gene Tunney
* Mary Woffington (1729–1811), Irish actress and socialite
* Polly Palfrey Woodrow (1906–1997), American tennis player

### Male

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* Bill Perkins (Australian rules footballer) (1920–2009), also known as Polly
* Graham Farmer (1935–2019), Australian rules football player and coach, nicknamed Polly
* Polly Umrigar (1926–2006), Indian cricketer
* Polly Wolfe (1888–1939), American Major League Baseball player

## Fictional characters

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* Alfred Polly, title character of The History of Mr Polly, a novel by H. G. Wells
* Aunt Polly, in the novels Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
* Aunt Polly, in the novel Pollyanna
* Aunt Polly, in the TV series Something Special
* Cactus Polly, in American-British children's TV series Oswald
* Polly, a character in the Jaws movie franchise
* Polly, a minor Peanuts character from the special, Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown
* Polly Becker, on the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1997–1998)
* Polly Chuck, in the anime television series Fables of the Green Forest
* Polly Churchill, a main character in Connie Willis' two-part novel Blackout/All Clear (2010)
* Polly Cooper, in the American TV series Riverdale
* Polly Cronin, from 1991 black comedy movie Drop Dead Fred
* Polly Dawson, in the American TV sitcom Soap
* Polly Duncan, Jim Qwilleran's girlfriend in The Cat Who . . . series by Lillian Jackson Braun
* Polly Emmerson, in British medical drama Casualty
* Polly Geist, in the simulation role-playing visual novel game Monster Prom
* Polly Gray, nee Elizabeth Shelby, a senior member of the principal gangster family featured in the BBC TV series Peaky Blinders
* Polly Maxwell, a character in the American TV miniseries V (1983) and V The Final Battle
* Polly O'Keefe, protagonist or major character in four Madeleine L'Engle novels
* Polly Page, a police constable in British TV series The Bill
* Polly Peachum, in Bertolt Brecht's play The Threepenny Opera
* Polly Perkins, title character of the 19th-century music hall song Pretty Polly Perkins of Paddington Green
* Polly Plantar, a main character in the animated series Amphibia
* Polly Plummer, a main character in C. S. Lewis' novel The Magician's Nephew
* Polly Pocket, a main character in the Polly Pocket series
* Polly Prince, title character in the film Along Came Polly, played by Jennifer Aniston
* Polly Reed, a character in the 1981 American satirical black comedy movie S.O.B.
* Polly Urquhart, character in Howards Way television show
* Polly (Underdog), full name Sweet Polly Purebread, in the American animated TV series Underdog
* Polly Sherman, waitress in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by Connie Booth
* Polly Wright, in the 1997 French-American fantasy drama movie FairyTale: A True Story
* Polly, in the 1935 American drama film Orchids to You
* Polly the parrot, a character in the 2001 American supernatural parody movie Scary Movie 2
* Polly, the pet parrot of G.I. Joe member Shipwreck from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon series
* Polly (Doctor Who), in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, a companion of the First and Second Doctors
* Polly the Party Fun Fairy, from the book series Rainbow Magic

## See also

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* All pages with titles beginning with Polly
* All pages with titles containing Polly
* Poly (disambiguation)
* Pollyanna (disambiguation)
* Polly Perkins (disambiguation)
* Pretty Polly (disambiguation)

## References

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1. ^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Polly". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2022-08-18.

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
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*[fl.]: floruit ('flourished' – known to have been active at a particular time or during a particular period)