Dakota
49% girls · 51% boys
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.
Dakota for girls#296 US
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 for boys#319 US
An early and still one of the most popular unisex names, also a place name and name of a Native American people in the northern Mississippi valley, which makes it a controversial baby name choice. While the popularity of Dakota is trending downward for both genders, it's one of those rare genuinely gender-neutral names that is used for nearly equal numbers of boys and girls.
Pronounced dah-KO-tah.
As of November 2026, Dakota ranked #296 for girls and #319 for boys in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #190 for girls in 2006 and #56 for boys in 1995, Nameberry popularity #642 for boys.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · girls | Births · girls | US rank · boys | Births · boys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #283 | 1,149 | #358 | 893 |
| 2015 | #242 | 1,333 | #356 | 942 |
| 2016 | #227 | 1,417 | #376 | 874 |
| 2017 | #231 | 1,360 | #340 | 999 |
| 2018 | #246 | 1,321 | #351 | 942 |
| 2019 | #258 | 1,269 | #344 | 973 |
| 2020 | #257 | 1,174 | #348 | 918 |
| 2021 | #270 | 1,162 | #343 | 954 |
| 2022 | #258 | 1,209 | #349 | 941 |
| 2023 | #262 | 1,189 | #328 | 1,014 |
| 2024 | #272 | 1,155 | #328 | 1,053 |
| 2025 | #296 | 1,035 | #319 | 1,074 |
World rankings
Dakota for girls
Dakota for boys
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dakota.
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Dakota on lists
Famous Dakotas
- (Hannah) Dakota FanningGirl
American actress
- Dakota JohnsonGirl
American actress; daughter of actor Don Johnson
- Dakota StatonGirl
American jazz singer
- Dakota Blue RichardsGirl
British actress
- Dakota Ulissa CulkinBoth
sister of actor Macaulay Culkin
- Dakota O'DonnellGirl
daughter of Rosie O'Donnell and Michelle Rounds
- Dakota RunnelsGirl
daughter of pro wrestlers Dustin and Terri Runnels
- Dakota Woodside (b. 2009)Girl
daughter of actors D.B. Woodside and Golden Brooks
- Dakota Avery GoyoBoy
Canadian Actor
- Dakota BradleyBoy
American country music singer
- Dakota ServoldBoy
American skateboarder
- Dakota CochraneBoy
American mixed martial artist
- Dakota Ryan HudsonBoy
American baseball player
- Rayne Dakota "Dak" PrescottBoy
American football player
- Dakota LohanBoy
brother of actress Lindsay Lohan
- Dakota Starblanket "Cody" WolfchildBoy
son of singer Buffy Sainte,Marie and Sheldon Wolfchild
- Dakota CastilloBoy
Smith, son of NFL player Tody Smith
- Dakota Lee MartinezBoy
son of actor A Martinez
- Dakota Paul BrinkmanBoy
son of actress Melissa Gilbert
- Dakota ChapmanBoy
son of bounty hunter/TV personality Leland Chapman
- Dakota Jefferson Holiday Alphin (b. 2010)Boy
son of singer Big Kenny
- William Dakota EdwardsBoy
son of model/actress Angela Lindvall and William Edwards
- Dakota Song CulkinBoy
son of actor Macaulay Culkin and actress Brenda Song
Dakota in pop culture
- North DakotaGirl
American state
- South DakotaGirl
American state
- Dakota WhitneyGirl
character from"The X Files: I Want to Believe"
- DakotaGirl
song from pop punk band A Rocket to the Moon
- Dakota CondorGirl
character from tv show "Sonny with a Chance"
- Dakota MiltonGirl
character from tv show "Total Drama: Revenge of the Island"