Cody’s got ’em all beat as far as NFR names go

There are nearly as many Codys competing at the National Finals Rodeo as cowboys.

For a surefire way to turn heads at the Thomas & Mack Center during the 10-day event, simply say, "Hey, Cody!"

The greeting creates confusion daily among the seven NFR qualifiers who share the same first name: tie-down roper Cody Ohl; saddle bronc riders Cody Wright, Cody "Hot Sauce" DeMoss and Cody Taton; and bull riders Cody Teel, Cody Samora and Cody Whitney.

"If you're in a meeting where all the rodeo contestants are together and somebody says, 'Cody!' there's going to be like 26 of us that turn around," Whitney said. "I don't know why Cody's such a popular name, but there's more Codys probably in the sport of rodeo than anywhere.

"I think there's a rule or law somewhere that says if your name's Cody, you have to try rodeo."

While it was playwright Bill Shakespeare who famously asked, "What's in a name?," it was "Buffalo Bill" Cody who undoubtedly inspired the names of countless cowboys.

The founder of the famed Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in the 1880s, Cody came to embody the spirit of the West for millions and was instrumental in the founding of Cody, Wyoming.

Wright, a two-time world champion, was named after the city.

His father, Bill, had saved some money to move from Utah to Wyoming for the Cody Night Rodeo, but his plans changed when his wife Evelyn became sick and needed an operation.

"He spent all that money on the operation," Wright, 35, said. "At the same time, she got pregnant with me, and I turned into the Cody, Wyoming, trip. That's how I got (my name).

"Instead of going to Cody, Wyoming, to start pro rodeoing, he just raised Cody."

Ohl, 39, might not be as well known as "Buffalo Bill," but the six-time world champion and 18-time NFR qualifier also has had a copious amount of kids named after him.

"It's kind of fun for me," said Ohl, who has a son named Cody. "This is my 18th year, and there's been dozens of kids that have come through the line with their parents and they say, 'Hey, we named him after you.' It's pretty cool."

Ohl said there are also quite a few Tys out there who are named after Ty Murray, a seven-time all-around world champion.

First names starting with the letter T also are popular at the NFR. There are 14 of them competing, including three Trevors, two Travises and a Tyrell, Tate, Trey, Tom, Todd, Turtle, Taos, Tag and, last but not least, Tuf.

Names beginning with the letter J also are in vogue at the NFR. There are a dozen of them: two Jakes and a Jacobs, two Justins, a Jesse and a Jessy, and a Jade, Jared, J.W., J.R. and Jim.

That's Jim as in team roper Jim Ross Cooper. Sadly, he's the only contestant with three names, meaning there are no Jim Bob Waltons to bid goodnight and no Billy Joe McAllisters to stop from jumping off the Tallahatchie Bridge.

The T's and J's still can't compete with the C's, though. There are 24 names starting with C and a half-dozen more that begin with the hard-C sounding K.

Aside from the seven Codys, there are two Caseys and Chads, two Clays and a Clayton, and a Caleb, Clint, Clif, Colby, Cory, Cort, Cole, Chase, Charly and Cesar - along with Kaycee and K.C., Kory, Kaleb, Keven and Kanin.

We're probably getting too deep here, but could all the names starting with C be a parent's subconscious attempt to have a son's name sound as close as possible to Cowboy.

"If not, that sounds good to me," Teel said. "That's a good reason to name him."

When it comes to cowboy names, one thing is undisputed: Cody remains the king.

"I don't really know what the deal is with the name Cody, but all the ones named Cody seem to be pretty good hands, so I don't mind," Teel said.

Samora wasn't named for "Buffalo Bill," Ohl or any other cowboy.

"I was actually named after a really good horse my dad had that he named Cody," he said. "That's how I got my name."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.