Molle is a medieval English diminutive of Mary, reflecting a common practice in Middle English of creating affectionate or familiar forms of names by adding suffixes like -le or -ot. The name thus carries the rich historical and religious associations of its root, Mary, the name of the mother of Jesus in the New Testament. The meaning of Mary is uncertain—theories include "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," or "wished for child"—but it may ultimately derive from Egyptian elements meaning "beloved" or "love."As a diminutive, Molle was one of many pet forms of Mary used in medieval England before the standardization of spelling. Such variants often appeared in records like parish registers or tax rolls, though Molle itself is rare. It is closely related to the variant Malle 2, another medieval diminutive possibly formed from Moll(y). While Mary was extremely popular from the 12th century onward—it was the most common feminine name in England by the 16th century—its diminutives like Molle were informal and did not achieve mainstream usage. Unlike modern pet forms, these older ones often lingered as independent given or nicknames.The 20th-century dictionary form Molle (mentioned in Wiktionary) is a homonym belonging to a Quechua-derived genus of trees (Schinus) and is unrelated to the name. No notable historical bearers named Molle are recorded from medieval times, likely because the name was rarely used outside intimate settings. Today, it remains an obscure onomastic curiosity, studied primarily by historical linguists and medieval genealogists.Meaning: Diminutive of MaryOrigin: Medieval EnglishType: DiminutiveUsage: England (historical)Related: Malle 2, Marietjie (Afrikaans), Marie, etc.