And "Patsy" for Martha. That one threw me the first time I ran across it! Shelley > Wikipedia says Polly was derived from Molly, another nickname for Mary. > > Another website, > <http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080125103308AA1dpxk> > says this: > > It was common in the Middle Ages to exchange Ps for Ms in nicknames. > Thus Mary or "Molly" was transformed into "Polly." The same exchange > can be seen with Peggy or Peg, a common nickname for Margaret (via "Meg.") > > So could be a nickname for Mary or for Pollyanna or simply just a name by > itself. > > In short: > > Mary --> Molly --> Polly > > similar to the derivation of > > Margaret --> Meg --> Peg -- Peggy > > Sarge > snip...........