Dakota

Native American tribe and place name; Sioux

"friendly one"

Dakota Origin and Meaning

The name Dakota is a girl's name of Native American origin meaning "friendly one".

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.

Dakota Rank in US Top 1000

# 272 in the US

Dakota Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 1216 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Dakota

• 272 US 2024
• 1216 Nameberry 2025
• 28 Unisex 2023
• 300 Future 2028
• 511 England 2023
• 73 Dogs 2022

20 Names Similar to Dakota

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Dakota.

• Harley
• Skyler
• London
• Paisley
• Paislee
• Brooklyn
• Bailee
• Skye
• Taytum
• Skylar
• Oaklynn
• Oakleigh
• Bailey
• Payton
• Maddison
• Peyton
• Sierra
• Baylee
• Kennedi
• Bayleigh

Famous People Named Dakota

• (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

The name 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"