Dacota
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- duh-KOH-duh
- Origin
- Native American
Dacota is a boys' name of Native American origin, meaning “friend, ally”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Dacota mean?
Native American: respelling of Dakota, from Dakota (Sioux) dakhóta
“friend, ally”
A respelling of Dakota, from the Sioux word for friend or ally, which gave its name to North and South Dakota.
Is Dacota a girl's or a boy's name?
Dacota is a boys' name.
How popular is Dacota in the US?
No boys in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1997, with 40 boys. It first appears in the records in 1988.
Half of all the boys named Dacota in the US since 1880 were born between 1995 and 2003, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2001, 18% of the babies named Dacota in the US were girls.
Dacota in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 | #9,815 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 8 | #8,811 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 7 | #9,593 |
| 2010 | 6 | #10,759 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8,980 |
| 2008 | 13 | #6,388 |
| 2007 | 14 | #5,898 |
| 2006 | 17 | #5,068 |
| 2005 | 16 | #5,029 |
| 2004 | 19 | #4,416 |
| 2003 | 14 | #5,265 |
| 2002 | 34 | #2,751 |
| 2001 | 33 | #2,792 |
| 2000 | 25 | #3,293 |
| 1999 | 30 | #2,791 |
| 1998 | 40 | #2,232 |
| 1997 | 40 | #2,161 |
| 1996 | 20 | #3,400 |
| 1995 | 32 | #2,395 |
| 1994 | 25 | #2,842 |
| 1993 | 17 | #3,655 |
| 1992 | 21 | #3,099 |
| 1991 | 20 | #3,099 |
| 1990 | 12 | #4,401 |
| 1989 | 8 | #5,608 |
| 1988 | 5 | #7,264 |
Nicknames for Dacota
- Kota 87 boys in the US in 2025
Names like Dacota
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Dakota, Dakoda, Takoda, Montana, Diego, Elisha, Samuel, Dylan, Luca, Joshua, Cristian, Dangelo
Names related to Dacota
More Native American names
Tallulah, Nayeli, Winona, Kenai, Cree, Xochitl, Xitlali, Citlali, Alaska, Talulah, Sequoia, Denali, Tennessee, Lakota, Wynonna, Nakai
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Dacota: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/dacota, updated 20 October 2026.