Head to head · Girls' names
Blake vs Dakota
#295 vs #295 in 2025
Blake and Dakota share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#295). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Dakota leads 3 measures of 6; Blake leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Blake —, Dakota #3134 — Dakota higher
- 1920s: Blake —, Dakota #4464 — Dakota higher
- 1950s: Blake #5227, Dakota #3172 — Dakota higher
- 1960s: Blake #4351, Dakota #4802 — Blake higher
- 1970s: Blake #3340, Dakota #5265 — Blake higher
- 1980s: Blake #1747, Dakota #2870 — Blake higher
- 1990s: Blake #993, Dakota #329 — Dakota higher
- 2000s: Blake #1638, Dakota #276 — Dakota higher
- 2010s: Blake #519, Dakota #267 — Dakota higher
- 2020s: Blake #225, Dakota #269 — Blake higher
Dakota stood higher in 6 of 10 decades; Blake took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Blake | Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #3134 |
| 1920s | — | #4464 |
| 1950s | #5227 | #3172 |
| 1960s | #4351 | #4802 |
| 1970s | #3340 | #5265 |
| 1980s | #1747 | #2870 |
| 1990s | #993 | #329 |
| 2000s | #1638 | #276 |
| 2010s | #519 | #267 |
| 2020s | #225 | #269 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Blake
Either "black, dark" or "pale, fair" — the two readings compete
Old English had both blæc, "black or dark," and blāc, "pale, wan, bright." The two words drifted close together in Middle English spelling, and surname scholars have never been able to separate which families got Blake from which. So the name genuinely carries both senses, dark and fair, with no way to choose between them — an unusually neat piece of linguistic accident.
Old English blæc / blāc → Middle English Blake (byname) → Blake (English surname) → Blake (given name)
How it traveled
Blake is an English surname first, of the descriptive kind given to a person for their coloring — dark or fair, depending on which Old English root a given family's name came from. It was well established across England by the Middle Ages, and a branch of Blakes became one of the merchant families of Galway in Ireland.
Dakota
friend, ally
From Dakȟóta, the self-designation of the Dakota people, one of the divisions of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (commonly called Sioux).
Dakȟóta → Dakota Territory → Dakota
How it traveled
Dakota is the name the Dakota people use for themselves, and the word carries the sense of allies or friends — kin bound to one another. English speakers borrowed it as a geographic label: Dakota Territory was organized in 1861, and in 1889 it was divided into the two states that keep the name today.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Blake
BLAYK
One syllable, rhyming with lake. Spelled the way it sounds in English, and the same for a girl or a boy.
- Blakey — Affectionate extension used within families and on sports teams; rarely written down.
- B — Initial-only informal address, common among friends and siblings.
Dakota
duh-KOH-tuh
Three syllables, stress on the second — identical to the two states, so it needs no explaining in the US.
- Kota — The most-used short form for either sex; also given occasionally as a standalone name.
- Dak — Clipped, informal, more often heard for boys.
- Kodi — A phonetic short form some families use; overlaps in sound with the separate name Cody.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Blake if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsBlake is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesBlake is 1 syllable to Dakota's 3
Choose Dakota if you want…
- a name with more sound in itDakota runs 3 syllables, Blake 1
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Blake
Strengths
- One syllable and one settled spelling — almost never misheard or misspelled by an English speaker.
- A documented English surname since the Middle Ages, and on American birth records since the nineteenth century.
- Used for boys and girls in near-equal numbers, so neither child is the unusual case.
To consider
- Because the split between boys and girls is close to even, a Blake on paper — a class list, an application — gives no signal either way. Some families like that; others find themselves correcting assumptions.
- The meaning cannot be pinned down, and the two candidates point in opposite directions. If a settled, quotable meaning matters to you, this name will not give you one.
- One hard syllable ending in a k sound offers very little to shorten. Expect Blake itself to do nearly all the work, with no ready pet form waiting in reserve.
Dakota
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are already known to nearly every American, thanks to the two states — rarely misheard, rarely respelled.
- Works unchanged for a boy or a girl, with no separate feminine or masculine form to choose between.
- Has real short forms in use — Kota, Dak — for the times a three-syllable name is one syllable too many.
To consider
- The near-even gender split means the name alone won't tell a teacher, a coach or a form-reader which child is coming. Some parents like that; others find themselves clarifying often, and it tends to fall harder on whichever side is smaller in a given town.
- This is the living name of a living nation, not a decorative word. Some Dakota people have written about non-Native use of it. That is worth reading about honestly before you decide, rather than after.
- In much of the country the name still reads as a place first — the state, the plains, the highway sign. That association is warm for many people, but it is unlikely to fade.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Blake and Dakota in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Blake and Dakota?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- One-syllable names: said in a single beat
- Preppy names with a monogrammed feel
- Middle names that go with everything
- Country music names
- all guides
Where Blake and Dakota each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Blake or Dakota — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Blake or Dakota?
- They tie in 2025: Blake ranked #295 with 1,035 babies; Dakota ranked #295 with 1,035 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Blake or Dakota?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Blake moved down 73 places; Dakota moved down 38 places.
- Which is the older name, Blake or Dakota?
- Blake entered the US charts in 1951; Dakota entered the US charts in 1915. On the American record, Dakota is the older name.
- How many people are named Blake and Dakota?
- About 20,000 people named Blake are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 41,000 people named Dakota are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Blakes or Dakotas in the classroom?
- Blake will almost certainly be the only one in school. Dakota will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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