Mostly boys · peaked in 1995
Dakota name popularity since 1925
134,562 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Dakota (30.8% girls, 69.2% boys). Half of them were born in 2001 or earlier, so the typical Dakota is about 25 years old in 2026. Dakota peaked in 1995 as the #56 name for boys, and it ranked #319 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 134,562
- Named Dakota, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #319
- for boys in 2025 (1,074 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 69.2% boys
- 41,444 girls · 93,118 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 2.22× its national share
Peak year is the year Dakota made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Dakota births per year, 1925–2025
1995 was the biggest year for Dakota both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1985 and 1990, Dakota became 13× more common, from 1 in 17,000 baby boys to 1 in 1,320.
- Steepest fall: Between 2005 and 2010, its share of baby boys fell by 56%, from 1 in 734 to 1 in 1,680.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Dakota's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Dakota.
Decade by decade
Babies named Dakota in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1950s | 31 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1960s | 63 | 10 | Under 5 |
| 1970s | 105 | 180 | #2,780 |
| 1980s | 565 | 2,457 | #869 |
| 1990s | 9,151 | 46,649 | #56 |
| 2000s | 12,404 | 28,181 | #148 |
| 2010s | 12,191 | 9,667 | #356 |
| 2020–25 | 6,934 | 5,974 | #319 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
49.6% of babies named Dakota from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Dakota is most popular
The index compares Dakota's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Dakota.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 2.22× | 3,874 |
| Nevada | 2.04× | 972 |
| Idaho | 2.02× | 1,075 |
| Arkansas | 1.82× | 2,501 |
| West Virginia | 1.82× | 2,136 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Dakota and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Dakota (this page) | 93,118 | 1995 |
| Dakotah | 3,151 | 1995 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Dakota's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Dakota.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Dakota (1995).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data