Cody Johnson Reveals The Special Meaning Behind His Son Jaycee Daniel’s Name [Exclusive]

Cody Johnson is celebrating a new chapter at home with the arrival of his son, Jaycee Daniel. While catching up with Country Now backstage of the CMA Awards, he opened up about the unique inspiration behind his baby boy’s name.

“So my ranch brand on all my cows and horses, it’s J Bar C brand for his cows and horses. And so when people mispronounce it, they say JC,” he explained. “So I thought, you know what, Kaycee, WY. [It’s] J-A-Y-C-E-E and we decided boy or girl was going to be Jaycee.”

Even though he and his wife Brandi would have been happy regardless of their baby’s gender, the country star admitted he is pretty excited that he finally got to welcome a son. Jaycee joins his siblings Clara and Cori, whom Johnson says are loving getting to take on their big sister roles.

“I kind of have to split my time. I’m like, ‘okay, y’all have had him give him back to dad. I need my time too.’”

The Texas native and his wife first quietly revealed they were expecting earlier this year on the ACM Awards red carpet, where Brandi debuted her baby bump. Later, Johnson confirmed Jaycee’s arrival while co-hosting Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton. This low-key announcement was a fitting way to share the news, considering Johnson tends to keep family matters private and they’ve stayed true to that even as his career rises.

In the midst of all the excitment, Johnson unfortunately endured a medical condition that greatly impacted both his life and career unexpectedly. He told fans via social media that a sinus infection led to his ear drum bursting, causing him to need surgery right away. As a result, he was forced to cancel the rest of his 2025 tour dates.

Although this was disheartening for the singer/songwriter, he shared that in a way, it has almost been a “blessing in disguise” as it has allowed him extra time to spend at home with his family.

Since the healing process is projected to take “many weeks,” he won’t be ready to return to the road, let along sing, while he recovers. That also includes missing out on the chance to perform at the CMA Awards.

“I want to perform. The optics of having an ear injury and not playing the last six shows of the year and then it’s like, ‘well, you can’t perform on national television,’ I’m going, gosh dang it. I wanted to get up there and sing ‘Travelin’ Soldier,’” he said with a sadness in his voice. “But I think that take the athletic approach to it and say, ‘look, the doctor said sit on the bench. So sit on the bench.’”

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The night will still be an exciting one for Cody Johnson as he has received four nominations including his first for Entertainer of the Year.

“Well, that is the stamp of approval…I have said this all day long. Close your eyes, throw a dart at the board, whoever it hits you can come up with a million reasons why they deserve it as much as I do or anybody else. So that stamp of approval is already there. It’s just up to who voted and see whether I get it or not.”

Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the CMA Awards will be broadcasted live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday Nov. 19 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC and is available next day on Hulu.