Jakota
A modern English name, formed through a combination of given names.
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Jakota. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jakota today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jakota births was 2003 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jakota. 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
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
2003
10 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,465
Tracked since 1997
Census
Jakota in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 176 people with the first name Jakota, which placed it at #41,537 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
#41,537
National first-name rank
People counted
176
176 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jakota
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jakota is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (11.9%). 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 Jakota 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 Jakota at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 90
- Black or African American17.0% · 30
- Two or more races11.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native10.8% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 16
Popularity
Jakota: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jakota from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 60 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jakota 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 Jakota during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jakota
The name Jakota is believed to have originated from the ancient Sioux language spoken by the Native American tribes of the Great Plains region. The name is derived from the word "jakota," which means "ally" or "friend" in the Sioux language. It is likely that the name was first used by the Sioux people to honor individuals who exhibited qualities of loyalty and friendship.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jakota can be traced back to the 17th century, when it appeared in the journals of French missionaries and explorers who interacted with the Sioux tribes. One notable example is the account of Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary who encountered the Sioux people during his exploration of the Mississippi River in 1673.
Throughout history, the name Jakota has been associated with several notable figures from the Sioux and other Native American tribes. One such individual was Jakota Black Elk, a renowned Oglala Lakota medicine man and respected spiritual leader who lived from 1858 to 1950. He was known for his role in preserving the traditional practices and teachings of his people.
Another prominent figure was Jakota Crazy Horse, a revered Oglala Lakota warrior and leader who played a crucial role in the Sioux resistance against the westward expansion of the United States in the late 19th century. He was born around 1840 and was killed in 1877 while resisting arrest by American soldiers.
In the field of art and literature, Jakota Zitkala-Sa, a Yankton Dakota writer and activist, made significant contributions to the Native American Renaissance movement in the early 20th century. She was born in 1876 and her writings shed light on the experiences and struggles of Native American people during that era.
Jakota Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota leader and holy man, was also a prominent figure in the Sioux resistance against the United States government. He was born around 1831 and played a pivotal role in the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, where he led a coalition of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors to victory against the forces of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
Jakota Red Cloud, an Oglala Lakota chief and skilled warrior, was another influential figure in the defense of Sioux lands and way of life. He was born around 1822 and was known for his strategic leadership in opposing the construction of the Bozeman Trail through Sioux territory in the 1860s.
People
Jakota + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jakota as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jakota: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jakota?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jakota 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 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Jakota a common name?
We classify Jakota as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jakota most popular?
The single biggest year for Jakota was 2003, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jakota is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jakota in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 176 people with the name Jakota, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,537 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 Jakota 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 Jakota?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Jakota on both sides of the split. Of the 176 people counted with this name, 138 were male (78.4%) and 38 were female (21.6%). 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 Jakota?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jakota is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (17.0%) and Two or More Races (11.9%). 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 Jakota most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jakota in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (90 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 Jakota in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jakota a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jakota 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 Jakota still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jakota 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 Jakota 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 are called Jakota?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.