Elody is a simplified spelling of Elodie, the French form of the Spanish Alodia, the name of a 9th-century martyr from Huesca. It is of Visigothic origin and usually explained as "foreign riches" or "other wealth", from the Germanic elements ali and od. The y spelling has shot up in the United States, from number 11176 in 2015 to number 2514 in 2024 and number 2361 in 2025, its best rank yet.