Holding steady.
Popularity of Joda since 1915
Babies named Joda per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1958, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Joda's real moment was 1920.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 |
| 1920s | 7 | 6 |
| 1930s | 5 | 6 |
| 1940s | 0 | 5 |
| 1950s | 14 | 0 |
| 1960s | 13 | 0 |
| 1970s | 45 | 0 |
| 1980s | 6 | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 |
| 2000s | 0 | 0 |
| 2010s | 0 | 0 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 |
Meaning & origin
Joda is a rarely used first name in the United States, first recorded in 1915. Its peak year of usage was 1920, though it has never appeared among the top 1,000 names in any year. The name's trajectory is stable, indicating a very low but consistent level of use over the decades. It has not been associated with any top states or notable spikes in recent years. Joda is often considered a variant of Jody, making it a gentle, under-the-radar choice for parents seeking a name with a vintage feel but without high frequency.
Joda is likely a modern coinage or a variant of Jody, itself a diminutive of Joseph (Hebrew Yosef, 'He will add') or Judith (Hebrew Yehudit, 'woman from Judea'). The name appears in U.S. records as a given name for girls since at least 1915, with some usage in the early 20th century. Its spelling with an 'a' ending may have been influenced by other feminine names ending in -a. It is not associated with the fictional Star Wars character Joda, which is a misspelling of Yoda.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Jo, Jodi
Sibling names for Joda
Names that share Joda's style, for a brother or sister.
