Jodell
Feminine
Jodell is an American name from the middle of the last century, built the way a great many names of that period were built: a familiar front syllable and an ending that could be attached to almost anything. The front happens to be one of the most-sung syllables in Europe.
How old is the name Jodell?
Jodell first appears in US birth records in 1930 — 95 years ago. The typical Jodell alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 700 people named Jodell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jodell most popular?
Jodell peaked in 1952, reaching #1578 nationally. See the whole 1952 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Jodell
The syllable at the front of this name has a job in the Alps. To yodel is, quite literally, to sing jo: the German verb jodeln is built from that one interjection, the call a herder throws across a valley, and the technique is the trick of flipping between chest voice and falsetto so the sound carries further than a shout. Alpine herders used it to move cattle and to talk between mountainsides before anybody thought of it as music. That is not where Jodell comes from. But it is a pleasant thing to know about a name that starts with a call meant to be heard a long way off.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source has been documented. The Jo in front could come from Joanne, Josephine, Joan or Jody, and nothing in the record narrows it. Names assembled this way often had no single parent even in the family that chose them.
Pronouncing Jodell
jo-DELL
Two syllables with the weight on the second. JO-dell, with the stress in front, is also heard and neither has won.
Nicknames for Jodell
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1930
- Most girls named
- 195642 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1578reached in 1952
- Change vs 1982
- +20.0%6 in 1984, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jodells among us
people named Jodell are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Jodell sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, spelled as it sounds, and never mispronounced badly by anyone.
- Jo comes off the front as a short form and needs no explaining anywhere.
- It belongs to a real and datable stretch of American naming, which gives it a place in time.
- The stress lands two ways depending on the speaker, so the name gets said back to you in a version you did not intend.
- No origin is documented, which means the meaning question has no answer to give.
- It will be written Jodelle and Jodel by people working from sound alone.
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Jodell
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jodells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Jodell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jodell in 2025?
- Jodell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jodell with classmates?
- Jodell will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jodell? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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