Cody
Meaning
from Irish surnames with two routes: "descendant of the helpful one" or "son of Odo"
The story
Cody came into given-name use through Irish surnames, but it does not have only one root. It can represent an Anglicized Ó Cuidighthigh, descendant of the helpful one, or Mac Óda, son of Odo. The familiar gloss helpful preserves one route and loses the other, so the full surname history is more honest. In American culture, the surname was widely recognized through frontiersman and showman William Buffalo Bill Cody before it became a fashionable first name. The US curve begins to lift in the 1970s, rises sharply in the 1980s, reaches its high point in the 1990s, and then steps down through each later decade. Cody now carries a strong generational accent, but it never disappeared. Its friendly two-syllable sound hides a layered path from more than one Irish family name into a distinctly American given name.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cody peaked in the 1990s.
When you meet Cody
Most people given the name Cody in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Cody you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Cody deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cody truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cody fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Cody fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Cody to your family’s tree →