Dakota
Dakota was the 296th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,035 babies. Its best year was 2006, when it ranked 190th with 1,839 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 54 places. More babies were named Dakota in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Meaning ally, friend (Dakota/Sioux) · Dakota
Say it duh-KOH-tuh /dəˈkoʊtə/
- Rank in 2025
- #296 girls, down 39 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,035girls
- Girls and boys
- 53% girls, 47% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20061,839 babies
- Total since 1880
- 134,576babies recorded
What does the name Dakota mean?
Dakota is the name of a Sioux people of the northern plains and their language, and later of two US states. Wiktionary derives it from Dakota dakhóta, "ally" or "friend". As a given name it was taken from the place and people names in the 20th century and is used for both boys and girls. The ethnic name is the source; the given name has no separate meaning.
dakhóta (Dakota, “ally, friend”)
How sure is this? Probable. The 'ally' meaning of the ethnonym is the standard explanation given by Wiktionary; needs a Siouan-language dictionary check.
See also: names that mean love.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Dakota', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Dakota', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Dakota
The usual nicknames for Dakota are Kota. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Dakota in the last five years, 1 were named Kota.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kota | Modern | #6,025 | 79 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Dakotas go by each one.
Dakota popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #296 | #319 | 1,035 | 1,074 |
| 2020 | #257 | #346 | 1,175 | 920 |
| 2010 | #285 | #292 | 1,142 | 1,142 |
| 2000 | #296 | #88 | 1,086 | 4,553 |
| 1990 | #596 | #195 | 380 | 1,551 |
| 1980 | #3,342 | #1,526 | 25 | 40 |
| 1970 | — | #3,334 | — | 9 |
| 1960 | #3,538 | — | 13 | — |
| 1950 | — | — | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Dakota, counting every spelling?
Dakota is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #307 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #296 for Dakota on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,070 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota | 1,035 | #296 | 5,759 |
| Dakotah | 35 | #4,090 | 251 |
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 Dakota?
1,035 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Dakota (0.29 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Dakota 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 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Dakota.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Dakota?
About 41,000 people born in the US named Dakota are alive today, with a median age of 18; half are between 9 and 26. That makes Dakota mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Dakota by state
How common Dakota was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Delaware (2.9×), Maryland (2.8×), Mississippi (2.7×), Louisiana (2.4×), District of Columbia (2.4×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Rhode Island, California, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Dakota: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Dakota, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Dakota · Sibling names for Dakota
Questions about the name Dakota
What does Dakota mean?
Dakota means “ally, friend (Dakota/Sioux)” (Dakota origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Dakota?
Dakota was the 296th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,035 babies. Its best year was 2006, when it ranked 190th with 1,839 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 54 places. More babies were named Dakota in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Is Dakota a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 53% girls, 47% boys given the name Dakota in the US.
Where is Dakota most popular?
In 2021–2025, Dakota was most common in Delaware (2.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maryland and Mississippi.