NameRealm
Dakota

Dakota: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“friend; ally”
Origin
Native American
Say it
duh-KOH-tuh · 3 syllables
Used for
Both (31% girls, 69% boys since 1880)

From the ethnonym Dakota, from the Sioux language, meaning 'friend' or 'ally'. Its use as a given name is modern American.

American namesModern namesNature names

How popular is Dakota?

2024663 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Dakota in 20242,208

2024 rank#273 girls

Peak year1995

Total US babies since 1880132,430

Dakota has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Dakota

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Dakodafriend, ally · Native American
  • Dakotahfriend; ally · Native American
  • Denalithe high one · Native American

Dakota questions

What does the name Dakota mean?

Dakota means "friend; ally". It comes from Native American. From the ethnonym Dakota, from the Sioux language, meaning 'friend' or 'ally'. Its use as a given name is modern American.

Is Dakota a boy or girl name?

Dakota is used for both: about 31% of US babies named Dakota since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Dakota?

2,208 US babies were named Dakota in 2024. Its peak year was 1995.

How do you pronounce Dakota?

Dakota is usually pronounced duh-KOH-tuh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.