Jolly
A nickname surname from a word meaning cheerful, merry, or good-humored.
The #2,306 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,508 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from a nickname based on Old French and Middle English jolly, meaning cheerful, merry, or lively. It was likely first given to someone known for a bright, genial temperament. Historical surname dictionaries also connect it with related forms such as Jolliffe and Jollie.
History
The name appears in English records in several spellings, including Jolly and Jollie, and was treated by 19th-century surname scholars as part of a wider group of nicknames for a pleasant or merry disposition. It is found in England and later in other English-speaking countries, especially through migration. Some older works also compare it with continental forms built from Old French baud, another word for joyous or gay.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname handbooks sometimes grouped Jolly with surnames like Merry and Gay, all built from nicknames for a cheerful personality.
From the historical record
“JOLLEY. SeeJolliffe. JOLLY. JOLLIE. The same as Jolifle, JONAS. The personal name. JONES. A genitive form of John, through Johnes, common everywhere in England, but superabundant in Wales. Next to John Smith, John Jones is probably the most common combination of names in Britain. As the Eegistrar-general well observes,”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom