Polly

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

People

Female

Given name

• 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 (), American violinist
• Polly Brown (born 1947), English singer
• Polly Campion, American politician
• 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 Harrar, British women's rights activist
• Polly Hill (economist) (1914–2005), British economic historian
• Polly Holliday (1937–2025), 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
• Pollie Hirst Simpson (1871–1947), English sportswoman, charity organiser and the first agricultural adviser to the National Federation of Women's Institutes (WI)
• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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 the 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... mystery book 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, née 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 the television show Howards' Way
• 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 '
• 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