Koda ranks at #187 with 571 entries, and the name belongs to the post-2003 cohort of pet names that owe their existence to the 2003 Disney film Brother Bear. Koda the bear cub gave the name its first significant cultural visibility in American naming, and pet adoption rates have followed steadily since.
The Brother Bear lineage
Koda was a marginal name before 2003. After the Disney film, the name picked up a specific cluster of users — primarily owners adopting in their late 20s to 30s who saw the film in childhood. The same generational pattern shows up for Kovu (Lion King 2) and Stitch (Lilo & Stitch). These are not blockbuster-name effects; they are deep-cut Disney effects that produce real pet-naming patterns in adulthood.
One counter-reading: Koda is also marketed as Native American or "Sioux" meaning "friend," though that etymology is contested and the name is not part of any documented historical Lakota or Dakota naming tradition. Owners who pick the name for that meaning are working from internet-circulated information that is not well-supported. The Brother Bear lineage is the more honest cultural anchor.
Where the name lands by breed
Huskies, Malamutes, Australian Shepherds, and large fluffy mixed breeds over-index on Koda, which fits any breed where the bear-cub register matches visually. Compare with the Siberian Husky leaderboard, where the name clusters tightly with other film-and-mythology-coded picks. The two-syllable shape with the open ending (KOH-dah) recalls cleanly across distance and works well in the active-breed contexts the name lands on. Owners cross-shopping similar Disney-anchored names also consider Simba and Nala alongside Koda.