Find out how popular the last name Cody is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cody.

Cody, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cody surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cody in America

Cody is the 1828th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cody surname appeared 19,600 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Cody.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cody to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cody

The surname Cody originated in Ireland and is derived from the Irish Gaelic O'Codaidh, which means 'descendant of Codadh'. Codadh itself is a personal name derived from the word 'codaidh', meaning 'victorious' or 'wealthy'. The name is thought to have first appeared in the 12th century in County Cork, though records are sparse from that era.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cody is in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Tadhg O'Codaidh in 1273. Another early reference is in the Annals of the Four Masters, which mentions a Diarmaid O'Codaidh in 1419.

The Cody surname is also found in various Irish place names, such as Ballycoddy in County Cork and Codysborough in County Wexford. These place names likely derive from Codys who lived in those areas in the past.

One notable bearer of the Cody surname was William F. Cody (1846-1917), better known as 'Buffalo Bill', the famous American scout, bison hunter, and showman. His family traced their roots back to County Cork, Ireland.

Another famous Cody was Samuel Franklin Cody (1867-1913), an English-born pioneer of aviation who made the first sustained powered flight in Britain in 1908. He was born Samuel Franklin Cowdery, but later changed his name to Cody.

In literature, the name features in James Joyce's novel 'Ulysses', where one of the characters is named Gerty MacDowell (née Cody). Joyce may have chosen the name due to its Irish origins and associations with County Cork.

Other notable Codys include Michael Cody (1929-2012), an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Sir Patrick Cody (1923-2008), an Irish judge who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 1985 to 1994.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cody

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cody.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cody was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cody has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cody was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cody, please contact us.

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