Dakota

Dakota is a unisex given name originating from the Native American Dakota people, whose name in the Dakota language means "allies, friends". The name was adopted as a place name for the U.S. states of North and South Dakota, which were part of the Dakota Territory until 1889, and then became a given name for both sexes.

Etymology and History

The Dakota people are a Native American tribe of the northern Mississippi Valley, and their ethnonym translates to "ally" or "friend" in the Santee and Yankton-Yanktonai dialects of the Dakota language. The name first appeared in U.S. census records as a given name in the 1850s and 1860s, part of a 19th-century trend of using unusual place names as personal names.

Popularity

In the United States, Dakota was rare as a given name for most of its history. According to the Wikipedia article on the given name, its popularity increased in the 1980s after a character named Dakota appeared on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. The name ranked among the top 100 most popular boys' names from 1993 to 2001, peaking at number 56 in 1995. Since 2010, it has been more frequently given to girls, likely influenced by actress Dakota Fanning (born 1994). As of 2021, it was the 270th most common girls' name and the 344th most common boys' name. The name continues to be used in roughly equal numbers for both boys and girls, reflecting its unisex nature.

Notable Bearers

Notable individuals named Dakota include actors Dakota Fanning (born 1994) and Dakota Johnson (born 1989), both American actresses; Dakota Abberton, an Australian surfer; and numerous others in sports and entertainment.

• Meaning: "allies, friends" in Dakota language
• Origin: Native American (Dakota people); later a place name for U.S. states
• Type: Unisex given name
• Usage Regions: Primarily United States