Dakota is a

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined as a neologism in the 1960s and was used fairly i ...

given name derived from the name of the indigenous Native American Dakota people, or from the name of two states in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, which are also derived from the Dakota people local to that area. The name is translated to mean "friend", "friendly" or "allies" in the Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee dialects of the

Dakota language Dakota (''Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi''), also referred to as Dakhota, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language. It is critically endan ...

.
Online Etymology Dictionary
/ref> Dakotas

Popularity

The name has been in occasional use for both sexes in the United States since at least the 1940s and is currently used in roughly equal numbers for both boys and girls in that country. The name's popularity grew in the 1990s in the United States. It was among the top 100 most popular boy names from 1993 to 2001, reaching its peak at number 56 in 1995. Since 2010, it has been slightly more frequently given to girls. As of 2021, it was the 270th most common girl name and the 344th most common boy name.

People with the name

* Dakota Abberton, Australian surfer * Dakota Allen (born 1995), American football player *

Dakota Darsow Dakota Darsow (born 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time working in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), under the ring names Maverick Darsow and B ...

(born 1987), American professional wrestler *

Dakota Daulby Dakota Daulby (born October 10, 1994) is a Canadian film and television actor, producer, director and screenwriter. Early life Daulby was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He spends his time between his home town of Maple Ridge and Vancouver ...

(born 1994), Canadian actor *

Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomin ...

(born 1994), American actress * Dakota Floeter (born 1994), American actor and musician *

Dakota Goyo Dakota Avery Goyo (born August 22, 1999) is a Canadian former actor. He is best known for playing Max Kenton in the film ''Real Steel'' (2011) and Jesse Barrett in the film ''Dark Skies'' (2013). He also voices Jamie Bennett in the DreamWorks An ...

(born 1999), Canadian actor *

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...

(born 1989), American model and actress *

Dakota Kai Cheree Georgina Crowley (born 6 May 1988) is a New Zealand-born professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Dakota Kai. She is a member of Damage CTRL and is one half of the cu ...

(born 1988), New Zealander professional wrestler * Dakota Lane (born 1959), American author *

Dakota Meyer Dakota Louis Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a former United States Marine. A veteran of the War in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. ...

, United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient * Dakota Morton (born 1988), Canadian radio host *

Dakota North (speedway rider) Dakota Max "Dak" North (born 4 August 1991) is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. Career North, named by his father – former Stoke Potters rider Rod North – after the Douglas Dakota aircraft, was born in Shepparton, Victoria, Aus ...

(born 1991), Australian speedway rider *

Dakota Rose Dakota Rose Ostrenga (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Dakota Rose, is an American model, fashion blogger, and television personality based in Tokyo, Japan. Rose achieved early Internet fame by posting make-up tutorials on YouTub ...

(born 1995), Japan-based American model *

Dakota Blue Richards Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her film debut at the age of 13 was in '' The Golden Compass'', as the lead character Lyra Belacqua. Other lead roles include the wayward teenager April in ''Dustbin Baby'' and M ...

(born 1994), English actress *

Dakota Staton Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to ...

(1930–2007), American jazz singer * Rayne Dakota (Dak) Prescott (born 1993), American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys

Fictional

* Dakota North (comics), a fictional Marvel Comics character * Dakota Milton, a character in '' Total Drama: Revenge of the Island'', the fourth season of the ''

Total Drama ''Total Drama'' (often shortened as ''TD'') is a Canadian animated television series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon in Canada on July 8, 2007, and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on June 5, 2008. The se ...

'' series *Dakota, a police officer in Lond Wolf Macqaude, portrayed by L.Q. Jones

Notes

{{given name English-language unisex given names Feminine given names Masculine given names Unisex given names English unisex given names