Dakota
Top 1000
About Dakota
A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.
Young actress Dakota Fanning helped give it a feminine spin; Rosie O'Donnell chose it for her newborn daughter. Interestingly, Dakota is one of those rare trulyunisex baby names used for almost exactly equal numbers of girls and boys.
Pronounced dah-KO-tah.
As of October 2026, Dakota ranked #296 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #190 in 2006, Nameberry popularity #681.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #283 | 1,149 | 643.2 |
| 2015 | #242 | 1,333 | 746.7 |
| 2016 | #227 | 1,417 | 799.7 |
| 2017 | #231 | 1,360 | 787.7 |
| 2018 | #246 | 1,321 | 776.6 |
| 2019 | #258 | 1,269 | 756.1 |
| 2020 | #257 | 1,174 | 726.2 |
| 2021 | #270 | 1,162 | 708.2 |
| 2022 | #258 | 1,209 | 737.1 |
| 2023 | #262 | 1,189 | 741 |
| 2024 | #272 | 1,155 | 712.9 |
| 2025 | #296 | 1,035 | 644 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dakota.
- Harley
- Skyler
- Paisley
- London
- Skye
- Brooklyn
- Tristin
- Skylar
- Kace
- Bayleigh
- Bailey
- Demi
- Marley
- Rae
- Sierra
- Ari
- Cali
- Beverley
- Peyton
- Brooke
Dakota on lists
Famous Dakotas
- (Hannah) Dakota Fanning
American actress
- Dakota Johnson
American actress; daughter of actor Don Johnson
- Dakota Staton
American jazz singer
- Dakota Blue Richards
British actress
- Dakota Ulissa Culkin
sister of actor Macaulay Culkin
- Dakota O'Donnell
daughter of Rosie O'Donnell and Michelle Rounds
- Dakota Runnels
daughter of pro wrestlers Dustin and Terri Runnels
- Dakota Woodside (b. 2009)
daughter of actors D.B. Woodside and Golden Brooks
Dakota in pop culture
- North Dakota
American state
- South Dakota
American state
- Dakota Whitney
character from"The X Files: I Want to Believe"
- Dakota
song from pop punk band A Rocket to the Moon
- Dakota Condor
character from tv show "Sonny with a Chance"
- Dakota Milton
character from tv show "Total Drama: Revenge of the Island"