Jodee
A feminine form of "Jody" derived from the Hebrew name "Yehudah" meaning "praised".
Name Census estimates that about 2,719 living Americans carry the first name Jodee. It is a predominantly female name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Jodee today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jodee births was 1973 (102 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jodee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jodee with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,059 Americans
Peak year
1973
102 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,128
Tracked since 1940
Census
Jodee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,077 people with the first name Jodee, which placed it at #5,538 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,538
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,077 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jodee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jodee is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jodee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jodee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 2,673
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 121
- Two or more races3.8% · 118
- Black or African American1.9% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 48
Gender
Gender distribution for Jodee
Jodee leans heavily female at 98.8% of total registrations, but 38 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jodee as a male name
- Ranked #13,128 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (6 births)
Jodee as a female name
- Ranked #16,247 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1973 (102 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jodee leans strongly female. 2,979 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 97 male bearers (3.2%).
Popularity
Jodee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jodee from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 805 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jodee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jodee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jodees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. California, Iowa, Texas recorded the most babies named Jodee, while Missouri, Montana, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jodee
The given name Jodee has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically derived from the Old High German name Jodocus, which itself is a variant of the Latin name Judocus. The name Judocus is believed to have been derived from the Hebrew name Judah, meaning "praised" or "celebrated."
In the Middle Ages, the name Jodocus gained popularity across Europe, particularly in areas where Germanic languages were spoken. It was often associated with saints and religious figures, such as St. Jodocus, a Breton prince who lived in the 7th century and is venerated as a patron saint in parts of France and Belgium.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jodee can be traced back to the 13th century, where it was used as a diminutive form of Jodocus. Over time, the spelling evolved, with variations like Jodey, Jodi, and Jodee emerging in different regions.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jodee or its variants. Among them:
1. Jodee Berry (born 1976), an Australian professional golfer known for her achievements on the Ladies European Tour.
2. Jodee Newnham (born 1974), a former professional tennis player from Australia who reached a career-high ranking of No. 26 in the world.
3. Jodi Benson (born 1961), an American actress and voice artist best known for providing the voice of Ariel in the Disney animated film "The Little Mermaid."
4. Jodi Picoult (born 1966), an American writer renowned for her numerous novels, including "My Sister's Keeper" and "The Pact."
5. Jodee Mundy (born 1971), an American singer-songwriter and actress who has appeared in various films and television shows.
While the name Jodee may have fallen out of widespread use in recent times, its rich history and connections to both religious and cultural traditions make it a name with a fascinating story to tell.
People
Jodee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jodee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jodee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jodee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,719 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jodee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 126,059 US residents.
Is Jodee a common name?
We classify Jodee as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jodee most popular?
The single biggest year for Jodee was 1973, when 102 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jodee is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jodee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,077 people with the name Jodee, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,538 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jodee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jodee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jodee leans strongly female. 2,979 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 97 male bearers (3.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jodee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jodee is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jodee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jodee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (2,673 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jodee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jodee a female name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Jodee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jodee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jodee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jodee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Jodee?
See how many people share the name Jodee on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.