Cody
Cody was the 318th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,076 babies. Its best year was 1991, when it ranked 24th; the most babies were born in 1992 (19,876). Over the last ten years it has moved down 81 places. More babies were named Cody in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning Irish surname: 'helpful' or 'son of Odo' · Irish
Say it KOH-dee /ˈkoʊdi/
- Rank in 2025
- #318 boys, down 21 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,076boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 199219,876 babies
- Total since 1880
- 297,177babies recorded
What does the name Cody mean?
Cody is an Irish surname used as a first name. Wiktionary gives two Gaelic sources: Ó Cuidighthigh, "descendant of the helpful one", and Mac Óda, "son of Odo", Odo being a Norman name (from a Germanic word for wealth, like Otto). Woulfe's 1923 index lists Cody and Coady among the English forms of Mac Óda. The Wild West showman William "Buffalo Bill" Cody, after whom Cody, Wyoming is named, made the name familiar in the US.
Ó Cuidighthigh (Irish, “descendant of Cuidightheach ('helpful')”)Mac Óda (Irish, “son of Odo”)
How sure is this? Probable. Two Irish surnames gave the English form Cody; which applies varies by family.
Related names: Kody, Coady, Codie.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Cody', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923), index of Irish surnames and their anglicized forms, M. H. Gill & Son (Internet Archive scan)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Otto', DMNES, Durham University
Cody popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 5,168 since 1926, 22 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #318 | 1,076 |
| 2020 | #297 | 1,133 |
| 2010 | #157 | 2,447 |
| 2000 | #60 | 7,132 |
| 1990 | #31 | 15,399 |
| 1980 | #143 | 1,956 |
| 1970 | #419 | 381 |
| 1960 | #814 | 88 |
| 1950 | #1,087 | 42 |
| 1940 | #1,584 | 19 |
| 1930 | #1,654 | 20 |
| 1920 | #1,550 | 24 |
| 1910 | #1,223 | 8 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Cody, counting every spelling?
Cody is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #282 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #318 for Cody on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,283 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cody | 1,076 | #318 | 5,521 |
| Kody | 202 | #1,070 | 1,042 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Cody?
1,076 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Cody (0.30 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Cody born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Cody.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Cody?
About 280,100 people born in the US named Cody are alive today, with a median age of 32; half are between 26 and 36. That makes Cody mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Cody by state
How common Cody was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Idaho (2.1×), Montana (1.9×), West Virginia (1.9×), New Mexico (1.8×), Utah (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in South Carolina, Georgia, Alaska.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Cody: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Cody, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Cody · Sibling names for Cody
Questions about the name Cody
What does Cody mean?
Cody means “Irish surname: 'helpful' or 'son of Odo'” (Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Cody?
Cody was the 318th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,076 babies. Its best year was 1991, when it ranked 24th; the most babies were born in 1992 (19,876). Over the last ten years it has moved down 81 places. More babies were named Cody in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Cody a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Cody in the US.
Where is Cody most popular?
In 2021–2025, Cody was most common in Wyoming (2.77 per 1,000 boys), followed by Idaho and Montana.