Jody
Jody is given to both girls and boys: 16 girls and 40 boys were given it in 2025 (#6,966 among girls’ names and #3,056 among boys’, #5,229 among all names counting both); 87,407 Americans have been recorded with it since 1910 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Boys have outnumbered girls among babies named Jody every year since 1994.
An estimated 75,800 Americans named Jody and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (87% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 49 and 64.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jody by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jody mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jody is “a female given name from Hebrew.”
Also “a female given name from French.”
Variant of Judy, diminutive of Judith, q.v.
/ˈd͡ʒoʊdi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jody?
#6,966 among girls’ names, 2025
Jody fell from #6,841 in 2015 to #6,966 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 10.1 to 10.0 per million.
3,700 babies in 1970, the peak
Jody peaked in 1970, when 3,700 babies were given it (2,200 girls, #153 among girls’ names). The 56 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 16 | #6,966 | 40 | #3,056 |
| 2024 | 18 | #6,507 | 49 | #2,690 |
| 2023 | 21 | #5,833 | 50 | #2,630 |
| 2022 | 15 | #7,435 | 37 | #3,241 |
| 2021 | 22 | #5,640 | 47 | #2,710 |
| 2020 | 20 | #5,961 | 40 | #2,952 |
| 2019 | 21 | #5,875 | 34 | #3,385 |
| 2018 | 20 | #6,131 | 52 | #2,489 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,656 | 48 | #2,614 |
| 2016 | 20 | #6,274 | 48 | #2,603 |
Every recorded year (108)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 18 | #6,841 | 57 | #2,312 |
| 2014 | 25 | #5,375 | 68 | #2,070 |
| 2013 | 23 | #5,730 | 59 | #2,217 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,464 | 61 | #2,177 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,957 | 74 | #1,893 |
| 2010 | 23 | #5,866 | 75 | #1,904 |
| 2009 | 34 | #4,411 | 74 | #1,930 |
| 2008 | 31 | #4,806 | 84 | #1,781 |
| 2007 | 40 | #3,947 | 102 | #1,545 |
| 2006 | 35 | #4,203 | 87 | #1,650 |
| 2005 | 38 | #3,835 | 79 | #1,696 |
| 2004 | 49 | #3,147 | 103 | #1,388 |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,315 | 100 | #1,356 |
| 2002 | 57 | #2,683 | 87 | #1,460 |
| 2001 | 53 | #2,785 | 92 | #1,380 |
| 2000 | 67 | #2,316 | 80 | #1,506 |
| 1999 | 80 | #1,965 | 106 | #1,202 |
| 1998 | 96 | #1,670 | 110 | #1,134 |
| 1997 | 83 | #1,806 | 106 | #1,155 |
| 1996 | 104 | #1,533 | 128 | #980 |
| 1995 | 121 | #1,360 | 126 | #988 |
| 1994 | 116 | #1,395 | 150 | #881 |
| 1993 | 146 | #1,186 | 136 | #921 |
| 1992 | 161 | #1,107 | 139 | #894 |
| 1991 | 169 | #1,069 | 202 | #708 |
| 1990 | 188 | #982 | 214 | #693 |
| 1989 | 227 | #832 | 219 | #672 |
| 1988 | 271 | #703 | 252 | #583 |
| 1987 | 283 | #662 | 249 | #577 |
| 1986 | 324 | #596 | 271 | #542 |
| 1985 | 491 | #446 | 295 | #506 |
| 1984 | 552 | #393 | 322 | #469 |
| 1983 | 602 | #372 | 331 | #458 |
| 1982 | 677 | #348 | 366 | #442 |
| 1981 | 744 | #319 | 493 | #356 |
| 1980 | 848 | #293 | 604 | #316 |
| 1979 | 994 | #251 | 731 | #280 |
| 1978 | 1,169 | #215 | 843 | #245 |
| 1977 | 1,500 | #184 | 1,061 | #208 |
| 1976 | 1,565 | #164 | 996 | #212 |
| 1975 | 1,685 | #162 | 939 | #220 |
| 1974 | 1,777 | #154 | 1,124 | #195 |
| 1973 | 1,687 | #163 | 1,242 | #185 |
| 1972 | 1,708 | #172 | 1,339 | #181 |
| 1971 | 1,937 | #162 | 1,704 | #161 |
| 1970 | 2,200 | #153 | 1,500 | #184 |
| 1969 | 1,959 | #165 | 1,589 | #175 |
| 1968 | 1,912 | #169 | 1,298 | #190 |
| 1967 | 1,628 | #194 | 1,057 | #215 |
| 1966 | 1,759 | #186 | 752 | #268 |
| 1965 | 1,571 | #209 | 676 | #290 |
| 1964 | 1,663 | #211 | 741 | #286 |
| 1963 | 1,725 | #206 | 735 | #284 |
| 1962 | 1,780 | #202 | 592 | #322 |
| 1961 | 1,832 | #200 | 837 | #272 |
| 1960 | 1,841 | #196 | 994 | #254 |
| 1959 | 1,860 | #190 | 897 | #266 |
| 1958 | 2,226 | #170 | 661 | #295 |
| 1957 | 2,134 | #176 | 389 | #388 |
| 1956 | 1,749 | #194 | 292 | #439 |
| 1955 | 1,509 | #206 | 297 | #424 |
| 1954 | 1,096 | #246 | 201 | #513 |
| 1953 | 852 | #285 | 190 | #510 |
| 1952 | 861 | #275 | 185 | #512 |
| 1951 | 556 | #335 | 154 | #547 |
| 1950 | 433 | #390 | 138 | #578 |
| 1949 | 294 | #466 | 122 | #615 |
| 1948 | 272 | #492 | 133 | #580 |
| 1947 | 240 | #544 | 137 | #582 |
| 1946 | 114 | #770 | 51 | #940 |
| 1945 | 72 | #891 | 27 | #1,285 |
| 1944 | 83 | #839 | 32 | #1,180 |
| 1943 | 65 | #988 | 25 | #1,415 |
| 1942 | 60 | #1,013 | 31 | #1,261 |
| 1941 | 41 | #1,173 | 18 | #1,663 |
| 1940 | 53 | #983 | 24 | #1,383 |
| 1939 | 22 | #1,659 | 22 | #1,436 |
| 1938 | 36 | #1,220 | 24 | #1,388 |
| 1937 | 29 | #1,374 | 18 | #1,661 |
| 1936 | 35 | #1,217 | 17 | #1,685 |
| 1935 | 33 | #1,251 | 16 | #1,792 |
| 1934 | 30 | #1,331 | 12 | #2,186 |
| 1933 | 27 | #1,425 | 13 | #2,043 |
| 1932 | 21 | #1,719 | 7 | #3,228 |
| 1931 | 16 | #2,064 | 8 | #2,973 |
| 1930 | 11 | #2,769 | 9 | #2,886 |
| 1929 | 7 | #3,856 | 14 | #2,141 |
| 1928 | 9 | #3,316 | 11 | #2,574 |
| 1927 | under 5 | 15 | #2,154 | |
| 1926 | 6 | #4,560 | 12 | #2,492 |
| 1925 | 10 | #3,230 | 10 | #2,845 |
| 1924 | 5 | #5,454 | 11 | #2,740 |
| 1923 | under 5 | 12 | #2,525 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 7 | #3,699 | |
| 1920 | 7 | #4,173 | 5 | #4,629 |
| 1919 | 5 | #5,164 | 6 | #3,953 |
| 1917 | under 5 | 7 | #3,394 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 6 | #1,504 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Jody a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 87,407 Americans recorded as Jody, 64% are girls and 36% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Jody: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jody, and how old are they?
75,800 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 87% of the 87,407 Americans ever recorded as Jody. The median Jody alive today is 56 years old; half are between 49 and 64.
The 2020 Census counted 72,569 people named Jody (48,897 women and girls, 23,672 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 78,700 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 334 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 24,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 39,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 8,690 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,180 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 880 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jody born?
The states with the most babies named Jody are California, Ohio and New York, with 20% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 6,158 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 5,048 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 5,024 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 4,799 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Texas | 4,754 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 4,442 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 4,161 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Minnesota | 3,516 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Wisconsin | 3,290 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Iowa | 2,346 | not ranked | 1.8× |
Where Jody is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jody is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 1.9 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jody with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 202,665 babies since 1880, Jody is the most given (43% of them). In 2025 it was given to 56 of their 157 babies (36%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jody
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1910-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Kary | 3,378 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jody and names like it
- Compare Jody and JodiBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sJody peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jody since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Jody: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Jody.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Jody alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with JMost given first.