Koda
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Meaning
“Dakota/Sioux word meaning 'friend'”
The story
Koda is the Dakota word for a man's friend, kȟolá in its Lakota cognate form, one Siouan idea in two dialect dresses, the way names wear spellings, and it walked into American nurseries through a bear: Disney's Brother Bear put a cub named Koda on screen in 2003, and the record answers immediately, about 850 that decade after almost none before. Then it kept going on its own: 2,300 in the 2010s and already 4,290 this decade, nearly double the previous total with years to run, well past the movie's shadow. The shape sits beside Kai and Koa and Cody, two syllables on an open a; the meaning, friend, needs no translation. Dakota, the tribal name at about 134,600, stands nearby. The bear opened the door; the word itself keeps it open.
How popular is Koda around the world?
In the United States, 4,291 babies were named Koda between 2020 and 2025. In New Zealand, 15 boys named Koda were registered in 2025.
Koda is on the official records of the United States, New Zealand, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales and Ireland.
United States
1 in 5,100
In the United States, 4,291 babies were named Koda between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Koda peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
New Zealand
1 in 3,800
In New Zealand, 15 boys named Koda were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Koda in 2017.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 8,000
In Canada, 37 boys named Koda were born in 2024, the 720th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 10,000
In England and Wales, 56 boys named Koda were born in 2025, the 650th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Koda were born in 2025, the 676th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
last on record 2023
Koda is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Koda
Most people given the name Koda in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Koda deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Koda 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 Koda fits with your family’s names and surname.
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