Dakari
A masculine name of African origin, meaning "crown bearer".
Name Census estimates that about 4,186 living Americans carry the first name Dakari. It is a predominantly male name (95.4% of registrations). The average person named Dakari today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dakari births was 2020 (408 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dakari. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Dakari with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Dakari is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 194 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Dakari is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.2K
~ 1 in 81,881 Americans
Peak year
2020
408 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#793
Tracked since 1974
Census
Dakari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,003 people with the first name Dakari, which placed it at #7,567 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
#7,567
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,003 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dakari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dakari is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Dakari 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 Dakari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.9% · 1,621
- Two or more races10.5% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 98
- White3.1% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.0% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Dakari
Dakari leans heavily male at 95.4% of total registrations, but 194 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dakari as a male name
- Ranked #793 in 2024
- 316 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (396 births)
Dakari as a female name
- Ranked #13,823 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (14 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dakari leans strongly male. 1,863 people counted with this name were male (92.9%), compared with 142 female bearers (7.1%).
Popularity
Dakari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dakari from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 1,741 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dakari 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 Dakari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dakaris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. Florida, Illinois, Georgia recorded the most babies named Dakari, while Connecticut, Colorado, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 88 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dakari
The name Dakari is believed to have its origins in the Akan language spoken in parts of West Africa, particularly in modern-day Ghana. It is thought to be derived from the root word "dako," which means "hunter" or "brave one." This suggests that the name was likely given to individuals who exhibited courage and bravery, perhaps in the context of hunting or warfare.
While the exact time period of the name's origin is unclear, it can be traced back to the ancient Akan people who inhabited the region for centuries. The Akan culture has a rich oral tradition, and it is possible that the name Dakari was passed down through generations of storytellers and oral historians.
In terms of historical references, there are no known ancient texts or religious scriptures that directly mention the name Dakari. However, some scholars have speculated that the name may have been used in certain Akan folktales or oral traditions, although specific examples are difficult to verify.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dakari can be found in the 18th century, when a man by that name is mentioned in a British colonial record as a prominent leader in the Ashanti Kingdom, which was part of the Akan civilization. Unfortunately, details about his life and achievements are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dakari, although their exact years of birth and death are often uncertain. One such person was Dakari Moro, a legendary warrior and chief of the Mossi people in modern-day Burkina Faso, who is said to have lived in the 16th or 17th century. His exploits and leadership during times of conflict have been passed down through oral traditions.
Another prominent figure with the name Dakari was a West African musician and griot (storyteller) active in the late 19th century, known for preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of the Mandinka people through his songs and tales. Unfortunately, his full name and exact dates are not well documented.
In the 20th century, Dakari Lamba was a Malian politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He served as a member of the National Assembly and worked tirelessly to promote the rights and representation of marginalized communities.
More recently, Dakari Johnson (born in 1995) is an American professional basketball player who has played for several NBA teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons. He is known for his defensive prowess and physicality on the court.
Finally, Dakari Aruni (born in 1981) is a New Zealand-born artist and sculptor of Māori descent, renowned for his intricate woodcarvings and sculptures that celebrate indigenous Māori culture and traditions.
People
Dakari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dakari 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
Dakari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dakari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,186 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dakari 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 81,881 US residents.
Is Dakari a common name?
We classify Dakari as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dakari most popular?
The single biggest year for Dakari was 2020, when 408 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dakari is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dakari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,003 people with the name Dakari, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,567 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 Dakari 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 Dakari?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dakari leans strongly male. 1,863 people counted with this name were male (92.9%), compared with 142 female bearers (7.1%). 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 Dakari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dakari is Black at 80.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.5%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Dakari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dakari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.9% (1,621 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 Dakari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dakari a male name?
Yes, 95.4% of people registered as Dakari 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 Dakari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dakari 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 Dakari 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 people have Dakari as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.