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ArchivesMy column on Jody and Jodie -- and why I do NOT think they are from Judy
Here is the link to today's column:
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/cleveland-evans-jodie-jody-jodi-no-matter-the-spelling-its-origin-was-as-a-nickname/article_fbb13d82-8405-11ee-8414-97501fcdebb3.html
The most common explanation for Jodie and Jody as a female name, found on this site and other places, is that it was "probably" a form of Judy or Judith. (There are also some sites that speculate that male Jody was from Jude, though this site does, I think correctly, derive that from Joseph.)
I do not think Jodie and Jody as female names originally came from Judy. So far every 19th century example of its use as a nickname that I can trace down in USA census records is from Josephine or Joanna. I think that someone years ago made a guess that Jody came from Judy because they thought you had to have a "d" in the base name in order to explain the "d" in the pet form. I do not think that's correct -- I think the "d" probably comes from some small children just learning to talk finding it easier to say "Jody" than "Joey". We know that Dodie comes from Dorothy, and I have found examples in the census of Flodie and Flody used as nicknames for Florence, Flora, or Florella.
I have no doubt that there probably are some women born in the last half of the 20th century as Judiths or Judys who are called Jody. Certainly there would have been a time in the 1970s and 1980s when Jody and Jodie would have sounded much newer and "cooler" than Judy and so some Judiths may have seen calling themselves Jody as an "upgrade" of their nickname. But I think the evidence is overwhelming that the original creation of Jody and Jodie was from Josephine and Joanna for girls, and Joseph for boys.
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/cleveland-evans-jodie-jody-jodi-no-matter-the-spelling-its-origin-was-as-a-nickname/article_fbb13d82-8405-11ee-8414-97501fcdebb3.html
The most common explanation for Jodie and Jody as a female name, found on this site and other places, is that it was "probably" a form of Judy or Judith. (There are also some sites that speculate that male Jody was from Jude, though this site does, I think correctly, derive that from Joseph.)
I do not think Jodie and Jody as female names originally came from Judy. So far every 19th century example of its use as a nickname that I can trace down in USA census records is from Josephine or Joanna. I think that someone years ago made a guess that Jody came from Judy because they thought you had to have a "d" in the base name in order to explain the "d" in the pet form. I do not think that's correct -- I think the "d" probably comes from some small children just learning to talk finding it easier to say "Jody" than "Joey". We know that Dodie comes from Dorothy, and I have found examples in the census of Flodie and Flody used as nicknames for Florence, Flora, or Florella.
I have no doubt that there probably are some women born in the last half of the 20th century as Judiths or Judys who are called Jody. Certainly there would have been a time in the 1970s and 1980s when Jody and Jodie would have sounded much newer and "cooler" than Judy and so some Judiths may have seen calling themselves Jody as an "upgrade" of their nickname. But I think the evidence is overwhelming that the original creation of Jody and Jodie was from Josephine and Joanna for girls, and Joseph for boys.
This message was edited 11/19/2023, 10:32 AM
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Replies
I've always thought the same as you, and would add that for a small child, "Jody" would be easier to say than "Josie," the common nickname for Josephine.
There's an example in the Gilbreth's book Cheaper By the Dozen of "Andy" as a nickname for Anne, their oldest sister.
There's an example in the Gilbreth's book Cheaper By the Dozen of "Andy" as a nickname for Anne, their oldest sister.
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One personal experience, and that from South Africa, doesn't prove much; for what it's worth, though, I was at school with two sisters, Josephine and Roberta. Josephine was known as Jody; Roberta, to my regret, went by Bert.
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