Dak
Form of the name Dakota, derived from the Sioux word meaning "friend" or "ally".
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Dak. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dak today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dak births was 2017 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dak. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
2017
44 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,850
Tracked since 1971
Census
Dak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 305 people with the first name Dak, which placed it at #29,174 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,174
National first-name rank
People counted
305
305 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dak is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Hispanic (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dak described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.7% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.1% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 32
- Two or more races9.5% · 29
- Black or African American8.2% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Dak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dak from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 101 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dak remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dak by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dak
The given name Dak has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the ancient Sanskrit language. It is derived from the word "dāka," which means "to burn" or "to shine." The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to the Vedic period, which spans from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
In ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, the name Dak is associated with fire deities and celestial beings known for their radiance and brilliance. One notable example is Daksha, a prominent Vedic figure who was considered the chief of the Prajapatis, or the progenitors of humanity.
Throughout history, the name Dak has been borne by several notable individuals. In the 6th century BCE, Dak Devi was a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of the Vedas and the development of Hindu philosophy.
During the Mauryan Empire, which ruled over a vast expanse of the Indian subcontinent from around 322 BCE to 185 BCE, there was a powerful military commander named Dak Singh who played a crucial role in the conquests of the emperor Chandragupta Maurya.
In the realm of literature, Dak Vihari was a celebrated Sanskrit poet and playwright who lived during the 11th century CE. His works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, are considered masterpieces of Indian literary tradition.
Moving forward in time, Dak Khan was a prominent figure in the Mughal Empire during the 16th century. He served as a governor and military leader under the reign of the emperor Akbar and was instrumental in the expansion and consolidation of the Mughal territories.
Another notable bearer of the name was Dak Nath, a revered Hindu mystic and yogi who lived in the 17th century. He is credited with reviving and popularizing the practice of Hatha Yoga and is regarded as a significant figure in the history of Indian spirituality.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Dak, showcasing its deep-rooted cultural and historical significance in the Indian subcontinent.
People
Dak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dak as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dak going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Dak a common name?
We classify Dak as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dak most popular?
The single biggest year for Dak was 2017, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dak is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 305 people with the name Dak, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,174 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dak in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dak?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dak leans strongly male. 289 people counted with this name were male (94.8%), compared with 16 female bearers (5.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dak is White at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Hispanic (10.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dak most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (179 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dak a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dak in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dak in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dak can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Dak?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.