Daykota
From the Native American Dakota people, meaning "friend" or "ally".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Daykota. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Daykota today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daykota births was 2000 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daykota. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Daykota. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2000
6 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,357
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Daykota: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Daykota 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 Daykota during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Daykota
The name Daykota is a variant of the name Dakota, which has its origins in the Sioux Native American tribe from the Great Plains region of North America. The name Dakota itself is derived from the Sioux word "dakȟóta," meaning "friend" or "ally." This term was historically used by the Sioux people to refer to themselves.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dakota can be traced back to the late 18th century, when it was used to refer to the Sioux tribes and their language. The name gained wider recognition in the early 19th century, particularly after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which helped to document and popularize the Sioux culture and language.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Daykota was Dakota, a Sioux chief who lived in the early 19th century and was known for his diplomacy and efforts to maintain peace between his tribe and the American settlers. Another notable figure was Dakota Lithgow, an American author and activist who was born in 1854 and wrote extensively about the plight of Native Americans.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Daykota began to appear more frequently in historical records and literature. One notable example was Dakota Fanning, an American actress born in 1994 who rose to prominence as a child star in films such as "I Am Sam" and "War of the Worlds."
Other notable individuals with the name Daykota include Dakota Staton, an American jazz singer who was born in 1930 and had a successful career in the 1950s and 1960s, and Dakota Brodius, a German-American artist and illustrator who lived from 1821 to 1901 and was known for his depictions of Native American life.
While the name Daykota is relatively uncommon compared to its more traditional spelling, it remains a tribute to the rich cultural heritage of the Sioux people and their contributions to the history and identity of North America.
People
Daykota + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daykota 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
Daykota: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daykota?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daykota 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Daykota a common name?
We classify Daykota as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daykota most popular?
The single biggest year for Daykota was 2000, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daykota is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Daykota in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daykota a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daykota 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 Daykota still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daykota 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 Daykota 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Daykota?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Daykota on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.