Dakota

/də.ˈkoʊ.tə/

The name Dakota comes directly from the autonym of the Dakota people, 1 of the 3 major divisions of the Sioux Nation alongside the Lakota and Nakota.

US Rank

No. 272

Births

1,155

Peak Year

2006

In the Dakota language (a Siouan tongue), the word dakhota carries the sense of “friend, ally, those considered kin,” and functioned originally as a term of self-identification distinguishing allied communities from outsiders.

French and English traders recorded the word phonetically from the 17th century onward, though it entered widespread Anglophone usage only after the 19th century treaties with the United States government.

What the name Dakota means

The territorial designation Dakota Territory was established by the U.S. Congress in 1861, and the 2 resulting states, North Dakota and South Dakota, joined the Union on the same day, November 2, 1889.

This geographic anchor became the primary pathway by which the word entered American naming conventions, moving from tribal endonym to state name to personal name over roughly a century.

Dakota is 1 of the clearest examples of a place-name adopted as a unisex given name in the late 20th century, following a pattern that also produced Cheyenne, Montana, and Sierra.

The name’s gender-neutral character was reinforced by its rhythmic 2-syllable structure and its appearance in popular culture, including the Dakota apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, completed in 1884, and later in films and songs

referencing the American West.

Across the United States, Dakota first entered the SSA records for boys in 1984 and for girls in 1990, climbing rapidly through the 1990s.

The name reached its peak in 1995, when it ranked in the top 100 for boys, and remained a steady top 500 choice for girls through the 2000s.

The visibility of actresses Dakota Fanning and Dakota Johnson kept the feminine usage prominent into the 2010s, while the masculine usage gradually tapered. The name also enjoys usage in Canada and Australia.

Contemporary bearers include American actresses Dakota Fanning and Dakota Johnson, model Dakota Pike, and British musician Dakota.