Cody

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Cody

Gender: Masculine, Feminine
Language: English

Etymology:
1. From an Irish surname, Ó Cuidighthoach, or Cuddihy, meaning “Descendent of Cuidighteach, a name meaning “Helpful” or “Assistant.”
-or-
2. From a Gaelic surname, Mac Óda, meaning “Son of Oda.” Oda was brought to Ireland by the Normans. It has a Germanic origin, Otto, or Audo, and means “Wealthy.”

History:
Cody is one of those names like Sherman, Ashley, Russell, or Harrison, that was a surname transferred to become a first name.

Originally, it would have been bestowed upon sons as either a first or a middle name in order to honor the Cody surname. For example, a woman named Mary Cody who married a man named John Smith, may name her son John Cody Smith, or merely Cody Smith. This custom had pretty much died out by the mid-20th century.

Cody-as-a-first-name was, however, was rare, for it is an Irish surname. Most Irish are Roman Catholic and traditionally, most Roman Catholics gave their children saints names and avoided the surname-as-first-name trend. Cody first appears on our lists in the 1880s, when William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody was touring with his wildly popular “Wild West Show.”

Cody was revived as a first name in the 1950s, helped along by the trend towards Celtic and Gaelic names. Probably, the popularity of Westerns during this period and the fame of Buffalo Bill Cody also contributed its rise. It was one of the most popular names of the late 1980s and 1990s.

Pronunciation: CODE-ee.

Alternates: Codi, Codie, Codell, Codey, Kodi, Kody, Kodee.

Alternates: Cody, Ó Cuidighthighy.

Famous Bearers:
Miscellaneous:
William F. Cody (1846-1917)
The famous Buffalo Bill.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.063 % of males named Cody

0.002 % of females named Cody
0.001 % of females named Codi

Popularity of Cody:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1887: N/A
1888: 815th most popular.
1889: 878th most popular.
1890-1898: N/A
1899: 928th most popular.
1900-1950: N/A
1951: 979th most popular.
1952: 851st most popular.
1953: 920th most popular.
1954: 836th most popular.
1955: 833rd most popular.
1956: 888th most popular.
1957: 837th most popular.
1958: 755th most popular.
1959: 816th most popular.
1960: 812th most popular.
1961: 718th most popular.
1962: 655th most popular.
1963: 595th most popular.
1964: 571st most popular.
1965: 587th most popular.
1966: 599th most popular.
1967: 538th most popular.
1968: 524th most popular.
1969: 486th most popular.
1970: 419th most popular.
1971: 399th most popular.
1972: 352nd most popular.
1973: 282nd most popular.
1974: 252nd most popular.
1975: 226th most popular.
1976: 200th most popular.
1977: 184th most popular.
1978: 152nd most popular.
1979: 147th most popular.
1980: 143rd most popular.
1981: 119th most popular.
1982: 95th most popular.
1983: 81st most popular.
1984: 62nd most popular.
1985: 52nd most popular.
1986: 56th most popular.
1987: 49th most popular.
1988: 43rd most popular.
1989: 45th most popular.
1990: 32nd most popular.
1991: 24th most popular. - Peak!
1992: 25th most popular.
1993: 25th most popular.
1994: 26th most popular.
1995: 26th most popular.
1996: 32nd most popular.
1997: 36th most popular.
1998: 43rd most popular.
1999: 48th most popular.
2000: 60th most popular.
2001: 65th most popular.
2002: 71st most popular.
2003: 79th most popular.
2004: 85th most popular.

Popularity of Kody:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1977: N/A
1978: 902nd most popular.
1979: 987th most popular.
1980: 956th most popular.
1981: 859th most popular.
1982: 724th most popular.
1983: 675th most popular.
1984: 569th most popular.
1985: 497th most popular.
1986: 485th most popular.
1987: 417th most popular.
1988: 362nd most popular.
1989: 355th most popular.
1990: 325th most popular.
1991: 288th most popular.
1992: 264th most popular.
1993: 257th most popular.
1994: 256th most popular.
1995: 267th most popular.
1996: 274th most popular.
1997: 290th most popular.
1998: 341st most popular.
1999: 362nd most popular.
2000: 353rd most popular.
2001: 375th most popular.
2002: 395th most popular.
2003: 415th most popular.
2004: 409th most popular.

Popularity of Codey:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1987: N/A
1988: 828th most popular.
1989: 902nd most popular.
1990: 843rd most popular.
1991: 745th most popular.
1992: 707th most popular.
1993: 700th most popular.
1994: 725th most popular.
1995: 782nd most popular.
1996: 815th most popular.
1997: 975th most popular.
1998-2004: N/A

Popularity of Codi:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1990: N/A
1991: 905th most popular.
1992: 893rd most popular.
1993: 894th most popular.
1994: 960th most popular.
1995-2004: N/A

Popularity of Codie:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1950-1989: N/A
1990: 974th most popular.
1991: 735th most popular.
1992: 742nd most popular.
1993: 738th most popular.
1994: 799th most popular.
1995: 896th most popular.
1996: 908th most popular.
1997-2004: N/A

Selected Sources:
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999
A Dictionary of English Surnames, Reaney and Wilson, 1990
American Surnames, Smith, 1994

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)