Lakota
- Gender
- Unisex
- Say it
- luh-KOH-tuh
- Origin
- Native American
- US rank, 2025
- #3,644 for girls
Lakota is a name of Native American origin, meaning “friends, allies”. In 2025 it ranked 3,644th for girls in the US (41 babies).
What does Lakota mean?
Native American: name of the Lakota people, in their own language
“friends, allies”
The Lakota are a Native American people of the northern Great Plains, part of the Sioux nation.
Is Lakota a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Lakota has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 41 girls and 28 boys in the US.
How popular is Lakota in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,644th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 41 about 1 in 39,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 9% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 41 girls in the US were named Lakota, making it the 3,644th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,338th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 80 girls. It first appears in the records in 1983. 28 boys were also named Lakota in 2025 (3,847th for boys).
2025 had more girls named Lakota than any year since 2020.
Half of all the girls named Lakota in the US since 1880 were born between 1998 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 59% of the babies named Lakota in the US were girls.
Lakota in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 | #3,644 |
| 2024 | 26 | #5,018 |
| 2023 | 38 | #3,909 |
| 2022 | 35 | #4,106 |
| 2021 | 29 | #4,603 |
| 2020 | 46 | #3,338 |
| 2019 | 35 | #4,071 |
| 2018 | 35 | #4,075 |
| 2017 | 46 | #3,386 |
| 2016 | 38 | #3,923 |
| 2015 | 47 | #3,389 |
| 2014 | 45 | #3,484 |
| 2013 | 63 | #2,725 |
| 2012 | 63 | #2,769 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,915 |
| 2010 | 39 | #3,888 |
| 2009 | 57 | #2,999 |
| 2008 | 51 | #3,266 |
| 2007 | 56 | #3,096 |
| 2006 | 56 | #3,016 |
| 2005 | 60 | #2,752 |
| 2004 | 38 | #3,744 |
| 2003 | 44 | #3,287 |
| 2002 | 48 | #3,010 |
| 2001 | 49 | #2,920 |
| 2000 | 62 | #2,453 |
| 1999 | 63 | #2,340 |
| 1998 | 61 | #2,304 |
| 1997 | 80 | #1,842 |
| 1996 | 65 | #2,103 |
| 1995 | 63 | #2,120 |
| 1994 | 47 | #2,622 |
| 1993 | 30 | #3,580 |
| 1992 | 21 | #4,679 |
| 1991 | 30 | #3,534 |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,459 |
| 1989 | 7 | #9,675 |
| 1988 | 6 | #10,381 |
| 1987 | 5 | #11,320 |
| 1986 | 7 | #8,518 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 6 | #9,013 |
Names like Lakota
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Dakota, Yuna, Yuri, Tru, Mika, Kiyomi, Yumi, Yumna, Ainhoa, Jimena, Ximena, Layla
More Native American names
Tallulah, Nayeli, Winona, Kenai, Cree, Xochitl, Xitlali, Citlali, Alaska, Talulah, Sequoia, Denali, Tennessee, Dakoda, Wynonna, Dakotah
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, “Lakota: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/lakota, updated 20 October 2026.