Lakoda
A Native American name meaning "an alliance of two or more tribes".
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Lakoda. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Lakoda today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lakoda births was 2012 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lakoda. 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
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2012
36 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,667
Tracked since 1994
Census
Lakoda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 222 people with the first name Lakoda, which placed it at #35,960 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
#35,960
National first-name rank
People counted
222
222 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lakoda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakoda is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (12.6%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Lakoda 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 Lakoda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.9% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native12.6% · 28
- Two or more races10.4% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 14
- Black or African American4.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Lakoda
Lakoda is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 267 total registrations, 173 (64.8%) were male and 94 (35.2%) were female.
Lakoda as a male name
- Ranked #8,667 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (13 births)
Lakoda as a female name
- Ranked #16,550 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lakoda on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 126 were male (57.3%) and 94 were female (42.7%).
Popularity
Lakoda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lakoda from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 119 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lakoda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lakoda 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 Lakoda 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 Lakoda
Lakoda is a name with roots in the Native American Lakota tribe, one of the largest tribes in the Great Sioux Nation. The Lakota people are an indigenous group that historically inhabited areas in what is now North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and parts of surrounding states. The name is derived from the Lakota word "lakota," which means "friend" or "ally."
The earliest recorded usage of the name Lakoda dates back to the late 18th century, during the time when the Lakota tribe was actively involved in conflicts with European settlers and the United States government. One of the first notable individuals with this name was Lakoda, a Lakota warrior and leader who was active in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He was known for his fierce resistance against the encroachment of settlers on Lakota lands.
Another notable Lakoda was a Lakota chief who lived in the mid-19th century. He was a respected leader and negotiator, and played a pivotal role in the treaty negotiations between the Lakota tribe and the United States government in the 1860s.
In the early 20th century, Lakoda was the name of a prominent Lakota activist and educator. Born in 1892, he dedicated his life to preserving Lakota culture and advocating for the rights of Native Americans. He founded several schools and organizations aimed at promoting Lakota language and traditions.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Lakoda was a Lakota artist and writer who lived from 1915 to 2002. His works, which included paintings, sculptures, and literary works, were instrumental in bringing Lakota art and culture to the mainstream. He was awarded numerous honors and accolades for his contributions to Native American art and literature.
Another notable Lakoda was a Lakota musician and songwriter who was born in 1945. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the revival of traditional Lakota music and dance. His compositions and performances have played a significant role in preserving and promoting Lakota cultural heritage.
While the name Lakoda has its origins in the Lakota tribe, it has gained popularity among people of various backgrounds and ethnicities in more recent times, though its usage remains relatively rare compared to more common names.
People
Lakoda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lakoda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lakoda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lakoda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lakoda 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 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Lakoda a common name?
We classify Lakoda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 267 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lakoda most popular?
The single biggest year for Lakoda was 2012, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lakoda is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lakoda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 222 people with the name Lakoda, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,960 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 Lakoda 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 Lakoda?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Lakoda on both sides of the split. Of the 220 people counted with this name, 126 were male (57.3%) and 94 were female (42.7%). 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 Lakoda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lakoda is White at 64.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (12.6%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Lakoda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lakoda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.9% (144 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 Lakoda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lakoda a male name?
Yes, 64.8% of people registered as Lakoda 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 Lakoda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lakoda 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 Lakoda 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 common is the name Lakoda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.