unisex name
Jody
JOH-dee
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 90,494
Northern Ireland
#402
2021 births
Jody serves Judith, Joseph and Jude at once, which is why it is 64 percent female rather than resolving to one side — three unrelated parents pulling in different directions. We record 89,849 lifetime births for it, strongest in the United States.
- Jody is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1970, when 3,700 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 59,203 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1910.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jody over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 24 |
| 1920s | 141 |
| 1930s | 406 |
| 1940s | 1,894 |
| 1950s | 16,680 |
| 1960s | 26,941 |
| 1970s | 27,701 |
| 1980s | 8,421 |
| 1990s | 2,681 |
| 2000s | 1,336 |
| 2010s | 807 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 375 |
What Jody means
Jody means woman of Judea through Judith, or he will add through Joseph. The two Hebrew sources are unrelated and the short form does not distinguish between them.
Where Jody comes from
Jody shortens several names at once. Judith is the Hebrew Yehudit, a woman of Judea, and the Book of Judith has her behead Holofernes in his tent — a scene painted more often than almost any other biblical episode. Joseph is Yosef, he will add. Jude and Judah supply a third route. Because English clipped all of them to the same syllable, Jody never settled on one sex, which is unusual for a name of its size.
Jody in use
Jody peaked in the United States in 1970, when 3,700 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 3,061st in the United States on 56 births, 4070th in England and Wales and 6615th in France — across 90,494 lifetime births. About 64 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Jody?
In 2025, Jody was given to 56 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jody is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jody
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jody also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jody over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jody in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jody
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jody — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jody
What does the name Jody mean?
Woman of Judea through Judith, or he will add through Joseph. The two are unrelated.
Is Jody a boys' or girls' name?
Both — 64 percent of the births in our records are female, which is unusually unresolved.
Who was Judith?
The heroine who beheads Holofernes in the Book of Judith, one of the most painted biblical scenes.
How popular is Jody?
3061st in the United States, down from a 1970 peak of 3,700 births.
How many syllables are in Jody?
Jody has 2 syllables.
Is Jody a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jody currently ranks #2,902 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.