Patty is an English given name that originated as a rhyming diminutive form of names such as Martha via the diminutive Mattie, much in the same way that Peggy was derived as a rhyming variant of Meg or Meggie, an English diminutive of Margaret, and Polly was originally derived as a rhyming variant of Molly, an English diminutive of Mary. The alternation of the letter P with the letter M in these English hypocorisms is not understood. The diminutive was used in Colonial America. It was later used as an English short form of Patricia or, for boys, as a diminutive form of Patrick. It is also in use as an independent name. Spelling variants include Patti and Pattie. Patsy is another related variant. Patty is also in use as a surname with different origins.
Patty Wyatt is the main character of When Patty Went to College, a 1903 novel by American author Jean Webster.
American child actress Patty McCormack in a publicity photo from the 1956 film The Bad Seed.
American child actress Patty Duke in a 1959 publicity photo.
A 1975 mug shot of heiress Patty Hearst taken the year after her kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army and the events that followed.
Martha is a feminine given name. Patti, Patsy, and Patty were in use in Colonial America as English rhyming diminutives of the diminutive Mattie. Molly has been used as a diminutive of Martha since the 1700s.
Martha from the Isabella Breviary, 1497
