Dakoda
Masculine · “allies”
Dakoda is given to both — 3,356 boys and 904 girls since 1880. See Dakoda as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Dakoda respells Dakota, and the Dakota word means allies or friends — the name a people gave themselves.
How old is the name Dakoda?
Dakoda first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Dakoda alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 3,300 people named Dakoda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dakoda most popular?
Dakoda peaked in 1995, reaching #921 nationally. Today it ranks #2108, 1,187 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From dakhóta to Dakoda
The story of Dakoda
The Dakota, Lakota and Nakota are the three main divisions of the Sioux, and each name is the same word in a different dialect — the self-designation meaning allies. The word 'Sioux' is a French rendering of an Ojibwe term and is not what the people called themselves. Dakoda appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
allies, friends
From the Dakota dakhóta, 'ally' or 'friend', the self-designation of the Dakota people of the Sioux nation. The two American states take their names from it. The word is ordinary in the language and the reading undisputed. The -oda respelling is modern English.
How the name formed
- dakhóta
- Dakota
- Dakoda
Related forms: Dakota · Dakhóta
Pronouncing Dakoda
duh-KOH-duh
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Dakoda and Dakota are said nearly identically.
Nicknames for Dakoda
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1986
- Most boys named
- 2004153 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #921reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- −12.7%69 in 2025, from 79
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dakoda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dakota in English — spelling variant
- Dakhóta in Dakota — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, North Carolina, California.
Dakodas among us
people named Dakoda are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 24,755 born in 2025 was named Dakoda
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Heather test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dakoda's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Heather climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Heather's path sketches the road Dakoda is walking now.
Dakoda sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Dakoda is headed
Dakoda should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dakoda beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dakoda in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the name means allies and is a people's own word for themselves is a first-rate fact.
- Kody and Dak are two short forms, both usable.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- Dakota is the standard spelling of both the word and the states.
- Using an indigenous people's self-name is a choice some families will weigh.
- It is used for both sexes in America.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dakoda to the vote.
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What they receive
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Dakoda
Masculine · #2108 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dakodas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Dakoda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dakoda in 2025?
- Dakoda ranks #2108 among US boy names in 2025, with 69 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dakoda?
- About 1 in every 24,755 US boys born in 2025 was named Dakoda — 69 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dakoda with classmates?
- Dakoda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dakoda
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ayven#2108 · Artist#2108 · Khyrie#2108 · Darryl#2108 · Armoni#2108 · Aero#2108 · Cai#2108 · Ansh#2108
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dakoda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dakoda and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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