I really do not think Jody was created from Judy or Judith. All of the 19th century examples I have found so far of women or girls called Jody or Jodie have had Josephine or Joanna as their official names. [noted -ed]
For me, it is a nickname given to me by my parents when I was born. My middle name is Joe. So when people find out that "Jody" is not my real name, they always ask how it got to be for me to be called "Jody." I enjoy the look on their face when i tell them it is short for "Joe."
Jody is the boy in the BFG movie by Disney who was previously taken in by the BFG. He loved to read and draw, and taught the BFG to write. He was found and eaten by the other giants. Sophie hides in his old room when the giants are looking to eat her as well.
My uncle goes by Jody, or sometimes Joe. In his case it is a nickname. His real first name is George. I have heard that it is used as a nickname for George.
I really, really hate this name. I knew an awful girl with this name that has forever tainted my opinion of it. Otherwise, it's a perfectly decent name and I actually rather like the name it's derived from, Judy, although I like Judith better.
If it is a variant of Judy, then it would be cool to name a girl Judith and call her Jody. Though Judy is very pretty too. When I was little, I had a babysitter named Jody and I think it's a warm, affectionate name with a lot of spunk. I only like it for girls.
As I previously stated on "Jodie": Unless it is strictly a nickname, I personally hold nonexistent favor for the name "Jody." Beside the fact that I feel that it is infantile, the "D" (in this case) morphs it harshly."Judy," on the other hand, I am quite fond of.
Jody Starks is Janie's husband and the mayor of Eatonville in Their Eyes Were Watching God.
― Anonymous User 1/21/2009
0
I haven't actually heard of guys named Jody, but I have heard of women named Jodie, so I find it a bit difficult to associate this name with males. I don't see why this name wouldn't work for males in the sense that the name sounds like Coby and Cody and other boyish names like that, but the trouble is that it really sounds boyish rather than manly. That's why I think it sounds better on females, as it doesn't sound so immature on them.