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.

# 258 in the US

Dakota Rank in US Top 1000

# 970 on Nameberry

Dakota Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Dakota Popularity

Famous People Named Dakota

  • (Hannah) Dakota FanningAmerican actress
  • Dakota JohnsonAmerican actress; daughter of actor Don Johnson
  • Dakota StatonAmerican jazz singer
  • Dakota Blue RichardsBritish actress
  • Dakota Ulissa Culkinsister of actor Macaulay Culkin
  • Dakota O'Donnelldaughter of Rosie O'Donnell and Michelle Rounds
  • Dakota Runnelsdaughter 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 DakotaAmerican state
  • South DakotaAmerican state
  • Dakota Whitneycharacter from"The X Files: I Want to Believe"
  • Dakotasong from pop punk band A Rocket to the Moon
  • Dakota Condorcharacter from tv show "Sonny with a Chance"