Lakota last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Lakota is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lakota.

Meaning of Lakota

A Native American surname referring to the Lakota tribes of the Great Plains.

Lakota, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lakota surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lakota in America

Lakota is the 66931st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lakota surname appeared 295 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Lakota.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lakota to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank6693176208-12.96%
Count29523522.64%
Proportion per 100k0.100.0910.53%

The history of the last name Lakota

The surname LAKOTA is believed to have originated from the Native American Sioux tribes of the Great Plains region of North America. The word "Lakota" is derived from the Lakota language and translates to "allies" or "friends."

The Lakota people are a part of the larger Sioux nation, which consists of three main groups: the Lakota, the Dakota, and the Nakota. The Lakota were known for their nomadic lifestyle and their skilled horsemanship on the Great Plains.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name LAKOTA can be found in the journals of French explorers and fur traders who encountered the Lakota people in the 17th and 18th centuries. These early accounts describe the Lakota as fierce warriors and skilled hunters.

In the 19th century, several notable individuals with the surname LAKOTA emerged as leaders and influential figures among their people. One such individual was Sitting Bull (c. 1831-1890), a renowned Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people in resistance against the United States government's efforts to confine them to reservations.

Another famous LAKOTA was Crazy Horse (c. 1840-1877), an Oglala Lakota war leader who fought against the United States Army in the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877 and was present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

In more recent history, Russell Means (1939-2012), an Oglala Lakota activist, actor, and leader of the American Indian Movement, became a prominent figure in the fight for Native American rights and self-determination.

Other notable individuals with the surname LAKOTA include writer and activist Vine Deloria Jr. (1933-2005), who was a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and activist and educator Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010), who was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

While the surname LAKOTA is deeply rooted in the culture and history of the Lakota people, it has also been adopted by individuals of various backgrounds and nationalities, reflecting the diverse and complex nature of modern society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lakota

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lakota.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lakota was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only78.64%232
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native14.92%44
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races3.39%10
Hispanic Origin2.37%7

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lakota has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White78.64%83.40%-5.88%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%0.00%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native14.92%11.91%22.44%
Two or More Races3.39%2.55%28.28%
Hispanic2.37%(S)%(S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lakota was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lakota, please contact us.

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