nametree
← Dakodabrowse · build a nametreeDakotah →

Dakota

gender-neutral name
Origin
Sioux
Syllables
3
Peak era
2000s
Today
▼ Cooling

Torn between Dakota and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

friend, ally

The story

Dakota is first the name of a people, not a modern invention or merely the name of two states. Dakota is an Indigenous self-name commonly translated as ally or friend. Government and tribal-relations references also distinguish Dakota from the broader outside label Sioux and encourage using the more specific community name. North and South Dakota were named from that source; the given name came later. American parents began using Dakota broadly for children of more than one gender in the late twentieth century. The curve rises in the 1990s, reaches its highest point in the 2000s, and then declines through the 2010s and 2020s. Any personal-name story should keep the order clear: the people and language came first, the place names followed, and the baby name is the newest layer. That history asks for respect, not a free-floating gloss.

More names with stories →

How popular is Dakota around the world?

In the United States, 12,908 babies were named Dakota between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 19 girls were registered as Dakota in 2017.

Dakota is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, England and Wales, Chile, Ireland, Argentina, Spain, Mexico City and France.

United States

1 in 1,700

In the United States, 12,908 babies were named Dakota between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2000s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dakota peaked in the 2000s. In 2025 Dakota went to 1,035 girls and 1,074 boys in the US Social Security record, one of the few names given to girls and boys in nearly equal numbers.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 970 · 2017

In South Australia, 19 girls were registered as Dakota in 2017.

1990peak 20072017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

New Zealand

1 in 4,400

In New Zealand, 13 girls named Dakota were registered in 2025.

1990peak 20062025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Canada

1 in 4,900

In Canada, 46 boys named Dakota were born in 2024, the 594th most common name among boys that year.
In Canada, 28 girls named Dakota were born in 2024, the 963rd most common name among girls that year.

peak 19952024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

See the full list for Canada →

Scotland

1 in 5,100

In Scotland, 9 girls named Dakota were registered in 2024, the 351st most common name among girls that year.

2000peak 2018

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

England and Wales

1 in 6,000

In England and Wales, 81 girls named Dakota were born in 2025, the 490th most common name among girls that year.

1996peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

Chile

1 in 15,000

In Chile, 12 girls were registered as Dakota in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1990peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Ireland

1 in 18,000

In Ireland, 3 girls named Dakota were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Argentina

1 in 66,000

In Argentina, 10 newborns were given the name Dakota in 2024.

2012peak 20212024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

Spain

1 in 94,000

In Spain, 475 residents are named Dakota, ranked 2,364th among women, with a mean age of 13.2 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Mexico City City

1 in 120,000

In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Dakota in 2022.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

France

1 in 130,000

In France, about 5 girls named Dakota were born in 2025, ranked 4,681st among girls that year.

1990peak 2017

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Austria

last on record 2023

Dakota is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Poland

last on record 2023

Dakota is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.

Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Dakota

Most people given the name Dakota in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Dakota

Aspen Hayley Whitley Savannah Shelby Rio

Keep exploring

Gender-neutral names · Truly unisex names

The Dakota deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dakota truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Dakota fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Dakota fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Dakota to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play