What do you think about the name Dolly being a given name on the birth certificate?
Is it too cute or babyish? It has a beautiful meaning “gift of God.”
We know it’s usually a nickname for Dolores or Dorothy. But we’re not a huge fan of either. Because Dolores means “sorrows”. Dorothy has the same meaning as Dolly but we like the sound of Dolly better.
Do you think spelling Dolly as Dollie, Dolley or a different spelling would make it more “mature”? But I wouldn’t want her to be constantly correcting her name, I know that struggle because I have a unique name myself.
Could Dolly be a nickname for something other that Dolores or Dorothy?
Right now we’re thinking about putting Dolly on her birth certificate as a middle name. If she doesn’t want to go by her first name, we will only ever call her Dolly unless she wants otherwise.
I personally think Dolly works as a middle name on the birth certificate. It’s also what we would be calling her if she wants to go by it.
I think it’s silly. Makes me think of dolls and cloned sheep, and it doesn’t work as a full name, IMO. Spelling it differently doesn’t make it any more mature. [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] could also be short for [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], maybe [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] or [name_f]Eudora[/name_f] as well.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be called [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] myself. I think it’s a rather infantalizing name, suggesting a girl/woman named this is like a doll. I would only suggest it as a nickname or middle name.
I’m in the UK and nicknames as full names are so popular. I’ve known of a few babies called this in the past few years but it does come across as really infantile. Not because it’s a nickname, but because of baby dolls and calling a little girl a “little dolly” in reference to them being cute. And cloned sheep.
[name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] nn [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] is a good option imo.
[name_f]My[/name_f] first thought is the legendary [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m]
However where I live in the land of nicknames I have come across a few Dolly’s I think the name works however I wouldn’t want to be called [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] feels a bit too juvenile. I would prefer as a nickname. Have you thought of [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]? [name_u]Or[/name_u] even [name_f]Theodora[/name_f]?
I actually really like Dolly! She’s just so sweet but I can also see it on a grown woman! Before giving the name Dolly, though, I would explore all the full name possibilities to see which ones you like best…
Dahlia
Dorothea
Dakota
Dallas
Daphne
Della
Delilah
Gwendolen / lyn
Madeline (it has the ‘dol’ sound!)
Odilia
Ottilie
Melody (the ‘lody’ bit could lead to Dolly!)
All these names could lead to the nickname Dolly but also I think Dolly is one of those nicknames where it can be a nickname for any name - does that make sense? like, you could have an Elizabeth nicknamed Dolly by her family.
I think putting Dolly as a middle name is a great idea! That way, she can choose if she wants to keep going by it.
Dolly reminds me of a sweet little girl with big eyes and two plaits, sunflowers, pink bows, big smiles and sunshine!
[name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m] is one of the few celebrities I follow on Instagram. Very-very wise and cool woman. I think [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] is great! I would perhaps use it in the middle.
Perhaps [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] as a middle is better just so your future daughter can better choose where she uses it.
(It’s funny, very wealthy people use names like Bunny; and celebs, [name_f]Honey[/name_f] and [name_f]Bambi[/name_f], so some of this depends on the contexts in which someone lives and the money they have .)
I know a [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] who goes exclusively by [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Doreen[/name_f].
I had never really thought about the name itself, but knowing her for many years, it never seemed odd to me - it was just her name. I think many less common nicknames work that way. I’ve known people who went by [name_u]Cricket[/name_u], [name_m]Butch[/name_m] and [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], but it didn’t seem odd to me. It was just their name!
With that said, I think if you love [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] it would be ok to use it as a nickname for a longer full name and then she would have the option what she wanted to use when she was older.
I think [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] or [name_f]Delia[/name_f] could work to shorten to [name_f]Dolly[/name_f]. I think most D names could work, especially ones that also have an L in them!
I think [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] could work. It ranks in the 300s in the UK (and has shifted between there and the 200s over the last few years). It’s similar enough to [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_u]Holly[/name_u], [name_u]Ollie[/name_u] that it works.
And, since you’re considering it for the middle spot, I totally think it works.
[name_f]Dolly[/name_f] as a nn for: Isolde/Isolda, [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], Gwendolen/Gwendolyn, [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_f]Adalia[/name_f]
I can absolutely see [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] being used as a stand-alone (I’m in the U.K.), like I wouldn’t be surprised at all if I met a child called that, but I’m not sure I can see the person growing up loving it… it’s silly in a way because [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_f]Polly[/name_f], [name_u]Holly[/name_u] are obviously all considered wearable but [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] has that ‘doll’ connotation which makes it somehow babyish to me. It’s fun as a nn but I’d want a longer name to ground it, I think.
If I met an adult [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], I’d assume it was short for something but not necessarily [name_f]Dolores[/name_f] or [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f] - it feels like one of those nicknames like [name_f]Birdie[/name_f] or [name_f]Bunny[/name_f] that could be given to anyone.
[name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m] is very cool, I think she’s playing with that very girly ‘doll’ connotation as part of her hyper-stylised femininity.
There is also the [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] the sheep association, I can’t decide if that’s off-putting or not - I mean, she was a scientific pioneer in a way! I’m not sure it will be a readily obvious association for younger generations, anyway.
If it helps at all, writing this out and exploring my thoughts has made me like it a lot more! But I still think I’d go with a full name of some kind.
While I think it’s a fun nickname, it’s not something I would personally want to be called because of the connotations, and while it theoretically could work on its own, I think it’s best for it to stay as a nickname or middle. Though I think it would feel pretty intuitive for any D name really, even as a planned nickname.
I’m afraid [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] doesn’t work for me, either as a nickname or a standalone.
As others have mentioned, it sounds a bit childish/saccharine because of “doll” (plus there’s the [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m] connection, and [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] the sheep). All of these connotations spring to my mind pretty quickly when I hear the name.
I wonder if a similar sound might work, like [name_f]Dori[/name_f] / [name_f]Dorrie[/name_f]? [name_u]Or[/name_u] [name_u]Holly[/name_u] is a nice alternative, too.
Maybe in the minority, but I love it. [name_f]My[/name_f] first association is [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] Ald.erton, the journalist and author (born [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] I think), and of course the immortal [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m].
It’s only infantilising if we decide it is- the sonority of [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] is, if anything, stronger than homophones [name_f]Molly[/name_f] and [name_u]Holly[/name_u] because ‘D’ is an alveolar consonant. After all, if we can have Kittys and Honeys, then [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] strikes me as being perfectly natural.
I think [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] as the official middle name but defacto forename works best- she’ll always have something more ‘sensible’ to fall back on in the official forename if that’s what she needs.
Side note: Have you considered [name_f]Dodie[/name_f]? Really sweet alternative diminutive of Dorothy/Dorothea, with some of the same sounds as [name_f]Dolly[/name_f], but fewer ‘undesirable’ connotations
I love it, but it would be a nn for me. [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] or [name_f]Theadora[/name_f] in my case. Using it as a middle name is a good idea as you could still use it as a nn, especially whilst she is little. I don’t immediately think of [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] the sheep. I think of [name_f]Dolly[/name_f] [name_m]Parton[/name_m], and that’s a flattering, cool connection.
like, you could have an Elizabeth nicknamed Dolly by her family.
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