Dakota

What Dakota means

Means “ally”

Borrowed from Dakota dakhóta (“ally”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Dakota” (revision 94578722), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Dakota?

US: Falling: down from #242 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #500 in 2015, #490 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2006, when 1,839 girls got the name (#190 that year). First in the US records in 1915.

How common

• About 1 in 1,553 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 3,127 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,789 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DE (2.22 per 1,000 girls), SD (1.97 per 1,000 girls), MD (1.9 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Dakota is #295 in the US and #490 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 50.9% of US babies named Dakota were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the UK pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Dakotah35 US
• Dakoda14 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Dacota
• Dacotah
• Dahcotah

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Dakota

Girls

• Brooklyn#118“wetland, marsh”^*
• Savannah#135From the word “savannah”^*
• Isla#28Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #142 in 2015, #28 in 2025. Short and simple: 4 letters
• Kennedy#85“head + ugly”^*
• Rowan#249“little red one”^*
• Delaney#242“from the alder grove”^*

For a brother

• Dallas#238“dweller at the house in the dale”^*
• Avery#291Editor’s note Down from #188 in 2015 to #291 in 2025 in the US
• Jonah#128“dove”^*
• Wyatt#38“war + hard, brave”^*
• Kaiden#237Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1992, with 12 babies
• Griffin#222Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #222 vs #1,035 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a place name where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Dakota’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.