Dakari
Dakari was the 837th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 295 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 666th with 396 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 632 places. More babies were named Dakari in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin not documented
Say it duh-KAR-ee /dəˈkɑɹi/
- Rank in 2025
- #837 boys, down 171 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 295boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2020396 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,526babies recorded
What does the name Dakari mean?
Dakari is a modern American name with no documented etymology in the dictionaries we checked. SSA data shows it from the 1970s, mainly for boys. Many name sites say it is related to the Shona name Dakarai, which they gloss as 'happiness', but we could not confirm that link or that gloss in a dictionary, so we do not give a meaning. It fits a family of modern names built on Da- and -ari endings.
How sure is this? Not documented. Possible link to Shona Dakarai is unverified.
Other explanations you may read: From Shona Dakarai 'happiness'.
Related names: Dakarai, Dakarri.
Sources for this meaning
Dakari popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 200 since 1995, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #837 | 295 |
| 2020 | #666 | 396 |
| 2010 | #1,743 | 87 |
| 2000 | #2,059 | 49 |
| 1990 | #5,063 | 10 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Dakari, counting every spelling?
Dakari is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #734 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #837 for Dakari on its own. Together these spellings went to 343 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakari | 295 | #837 | 1,589 |
| Dacari | 30 | #3,679 | 124 |
| Dakarri | 13 | #6,536 | 76 |
| Dacarri | 5 | #12,437 | 28 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Dakari?
295 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Dakari (0.08 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Dakari born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 28 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Dakari.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Dakari?
About 4,300 people born in the US named Dakari are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Dakari a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Dakari by state
How common Dakari was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in South Carolina (4.3×), Mississippi (4.1×), Maryland (3.4×), Louisiana (2.4×), Alabama (2.2×). In 23 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Dakari: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Dakari, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Dakari · Sibling names for Dakari
Questions about the name Dakari
How popular is the name Dakari?
Dakari was the 837th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 295 babies. Its best year was 2020, when it ranked 666th with 396 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 632 places. More babies were named Dakari in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Dakari a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Dakari in the US.
Where is Dakari most popular?
In 2021–2025, Dakari was most common in South Carolina (0.79 per 1,000 boys), followed by Mississippi and Maryland.