UK name, mostly boys
Cody
Small cushion or pillowcase, from the Old English "cod".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Cody is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Cody popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #107, with 498 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 566 births.
This profile covers 11,075 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 88% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 12,984 living people in the UK are called Cody. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Cody ranked #107 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 498 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2011, when 566 boys were registered as Cody.
- • Cody ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #80 in 2024.
- • About 12,984 living people in the UK are estimated to have Cody as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 90.1% of Cody registrations are for boys.
Latest rank (E&W)
#107
2024
Births in 2024
498
Latest year
Peak year
2011
566 births
Estimated living
12,984
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Cody
In England and Wales birth records, Cody has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 90.1% of registrations are for boys and 9.9% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Cody registered for boys
- Ranked #107 in 2024
- 498 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (566 births)
Cody registered for girls
- Ranked #4,192 in 2024
- 5 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (116 births)
Meaning
What does Cody mean?
The name Cody is an English given name of uncertain origin. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "cod," meaning a small bag or pouch, or from the Irish surname Ó Codaigh, meaning "descendant of Codaigh."
One theory suggests that the name Cody may have originated as a nickname for a person who carried a small bag or pouch, potentially referring to a peddler or traveler. Another theory links it to the Irish surname, which was anglicized to Cody during the time of the English colonization of Ireland.
The earliest recorded use of the name Cody dates back to the 17th century in England and Ireland. One of the earliest notable figures with the name was William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917), an American scout, bison hunter, and showman who founded the famous Wild West show.
Another famous bearer of the name was Cody Jarrett (1892-1939), an American criminal and gang leader during the Depression era, whose exploits were depicted in the 1949 film "White Heat" starring James Cagney.
In literature, Cody was the name of a character in the 1944 novel "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury, which explored the summer adventures of a young boy in a small American town.
Other notable individuals named Cody include Cody Bellinger (born 1995), an American professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League Rookie of the Year in 2017, and Cody Rhodes (born 1985), an American professional wrestler and the son of wrestling legend Dusty Rhodes.
William F. Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, was one of the most famous figures to bear the name, and his Wild West shows helped popularize the name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Cody over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Cody in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Cody, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 498 births in 2024, compared with 566 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cody by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Cody was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #115 | 2,378 | 5 |
| 2010s | #127 | 4,878 | 10 |
| 2000s | #157 | 3,541 | 10 |
| 1990s | #361 | 278 | 4 |
Geography
Where Cody is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Cody. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Cody ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #80 in 2024.
Across the UK
Cody in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#80 in 2024
30 years of NRS records, 1,400 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#81 in 2024
28 years of NISRA records, 594 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Cody
-
Cody Pennington
association football player
football player
2006-
-
Cody Molko
actor
actor and Brian Molko's son
2005-
-
Cody Drameh
association football player
football player
2001-
-
Cody Tennant, 4th Baron Glenconner
aristocrat
English peer (born 1994)
1994-
-
Cody Cooke
association football player
association football player
1993-
-
Cody Cropper
association football player
American soccer player
1993-
-
Cody McDonald
association football player
English footballer (born 1986)
1986-
Related
Names similar to Cody
- Charlie 104,761
- Callum 65,796
- Connor 53,072
- Cameron 40,394
- Charles 33,091
- Christopher 26,849
- Caleb 15,553
- Corey 12,622
- Carter 11,505
- Conor 10,298
- Christian 9,695
- Cole 8,762
FAQ
Cody: questions and answers
How popular is the name Cody in the UK right now?
In 2024, Cody was ranked #107 for boys in England and Wales, with 498 births registered.
When was Cody most popular?
The peak year on record was 2011, with 566 babies registered as Cody in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Cody?
Small cushion or pillowcase, from the Old English "cod".
How many people are called Cody in the UK?
A total of 11,075 babies have been registered as Cody across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 1,400 more in Scotland and 594 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Cody most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Cody ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #80 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.