NameCensus.

UK name, mostly boys

Kody

A unisex name of American origin meaning "helpful traveler".

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.

Kody is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Kody popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #576, with 66 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 78 births.

This profile covers 1,337 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 85% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 1,575 living people in the UK are called Kody. 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

  • Kody ranked #576 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 66 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2014, when 78 boys were registered as Kody.
  • Kody ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #256 in 2024.
  • About 1,575 living people in the UK are estimated to have Kody as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
  • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 95.0% of Kody registrations are for boys.

Latest rank (E&W)

#576

2024

Births in 2024

66

Latest year

Peak year

2014

78 births

Estimated living

1,575

2026

Gender

Boy and girl registrations for Kody

In England and Wales birth records, Kody has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 95.0% of registrations are for boys and 5.0% 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.

95% boys
Boys1,337 (95.0%)Girls71 (5.0%)

Kody registered for boys

  • Ranked #576 in 2024
  • 66 boys registered in 2024
  • Peak: 2014 (78 births)

Kody registered for girls

  • Ranked #5,785 in 2016
  • 3 girls registered in 2016
  • Peak: 2002 (10 births)

Meaning

What does Kody mean?

The name Kody is a modern variation of the name Cody, which has its roots in the Irish Gaelic language. The name Cody is derived from the Irish surname Ó Cuidighthigh, which means "descendant of the hospitable one." This surname originated in County Sligo, Ireland, and can be traced back to the 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cody appears in the Annals of Loch Cé, a medieval Irish chronicle from the late 12th century. The annals mention a man named Cuidightheach Ó Cuidighthigh, who lived in County Sligo during that time.

The name Cody gained popularity in the United States in the 19th century, particularly in the American West. One of the most famous individuals with this name was William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917). He was a renowned American scout, bison hunter, and showman who founded the traveling Wild West show.

Another notable figure with the name Cody was Samuel Franklin Cody (1867-1913), an American-born pioneer of aviation who spent most of his life in England. He is credited with designing and building several early aircraft models and is considered one of the pioneers of British aviation.

In the realm of literature, Cody was the name of a character in the classic novel "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in 1938. The novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, tells the story of a young boy named Jody and his pet fawn named Flag, set in the Florida backcountry.

The name Kody, with its alternative spelling, emerged as a more modern variation of the traditional Cody. One notable individual with this spelling was Kody Keplinger, an American author and teacher born in 1991. She gained recognition for her young adult novel "The DUFF," which was later adapted into a film.

While the name Kody is a more recent rendition, it carries the historical and cultural significance of its Irish roots, with its association with hospitality and the rich heritage of the American West.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Kody over time

The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Kody 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 Kody, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 66 births in 2024, compared with 78 at the peak.

Babies born per year

BoysGirls
020395978199620102024

Decades

Kody by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Kody 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 #576 325 5
2010s #574 637 10
2000s #803 336 10
1990s #1452 39 4

Geography

Where Kody is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Kody. 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.

Kody ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #256 in 2024.

Scotland
12
Northern Ireland
7

Across the UK

Kody in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#307 in 2024

20 years of NRS records, 197 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#256 in 2024

10 years of NISRA records, 51 total registered

Related

Names similar to Kody

FAQ

Kody: questions and answers

How popular is the name Kody in the UK right now?

In 2024, Kody was ranked #576 for boys in England and Wales, with 66 births registered.

When was Kody most popular?

The peak year on record was 2014, with 78 babies registered as Kody in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Kody?

A unisex name of American origin meaning "helpful traveler".

How many people are called Kody in the UK?

A total of 1,337 babies have been registered as Kody across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 197 more in Scotland and 51 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Kody most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Kody ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #256 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.