# Anyone in US named Dakota? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362 "2023-08-30T20:59:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/21 "2023-08-30T21:34:54Z")
It’s around the 250th most popular girls name as of last year. For comparison, I checked some names I grew up with and it’s more popular than Catherine (at around 300). And more popular than Jane, Rebecca, and Nicole. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/22 "2023-08-30T21:49:59Z")
In the mid 1990s, I worked with a woman who named her son Dakotah. That’s the only one I can think of that I knew personally. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/23 "2023-08-30T21:50:15Z")
The hell you say? 😮 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/24 "2023-08-30T21:50:58Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I used to take ballet lessons with a lovely girl named Orpah. > > Mom was going for “Oprah” but apparently she got the _good_ drugs during labor … Oprah’s name was a misspelling of Orpah in the first place. So there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/25 "2023-08-30T21:53:49Z")
I know (or at least, knew) a guy named Dakota; he’d be in his late 20s or early 30s at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/26 "2023-08-30T21:56:13Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Mom was going for “Oprah” but apparently she got the _good_ drugs during labor … Orpah was a woman in the Bible. According to Oprah herself, her name was supposed be be Orpah, but was misspelled. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/27 "2023-08-30T21:58:54Z")
Dak Prescott, starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys, is short for Dakota. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/28 "2023-08-30T22:04:18Z")
On [this list](https://www.whattoexpect.com/baby-names/list/top-baby-names-for-girls/#top-names), it’s: Dakota #258 Jane #290 Rebecca #296 Catherine #328 That’s from SSA (Social Security Administration) data in 2022. ---
**Author:** ![Jagraze1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jagraze1/32/14870_2.png) [@Jagraze1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jagraze1)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/29 "2023-08-30T22:04:54Z")
Dakota is not a lot ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/30 "2023-08-30T22:11:20Z")
Not common now, no. It’s about 1200 births for 2022. Its peak appears to have been 2006, where it cracked the Top 200 at 190, with 1800 births to that name. I don’t know why the info from the SSA does not seem to align with the graph shown before. It is based on Social Security card applications, if that makes a difference. Here’s where I pulled my data: > **[Popular Baby Names](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/)** > > Home Page for Baby Names I can’t seem to directly link to the results, but if you type in “Dakota” in the “Popularity of a name” column and click on “1960 & Later”, you’ll find the data I got. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/31 "2023-08-30T22:13:13Z")
My ex-stepdaughter’s brother-in-law’s son is a Dakota. I think he’s a teenager now. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/32 "2023-08-30T22:17:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Oprah’s name was a misspelling of Orpah in the first place. (and @Kent_Clark) I wish I’d known that at the time! > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > My ex-stepdaughter’s brother-in-law’s son My brain broke trying to follow that branch of your family tree. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/33 "2023-08-30T22:20:10Z")
I think there were 4 in the Lil’wrekkers graduating class ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/34 "2023-08-30T22:21:37Z")
Dakota is basic. Now, _La_kota is a cool name for a kid. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/35 "2023-08-30T22:21:47Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I used to take ballet lessons with a lovely girl named Orpah. > > Mom was going for “Oprah” but apparently she got the _good_ drugs during labor Something like that happened to my Uncle, Conard. He HATED that name so much, because he got teased about it. As soon as he could, he legally changed his name to just “Con.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/36 "2023-08-30T22:24:16Z")
Ah, for male names, it seems to have hit #56 in 1995, with 6575 male Dakotas being born that year. ETA: Still, doesn’t line up at all with the previous graph where female Dakotas dominate. I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/37 "2023-08-30T22:24:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You know there are 2 states named Dakota? > And it’s an Indian tribe. And an [apartment building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/38 "2023-08-30T22:30:33Z")
Oh I forgot about that. Good catch. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/39 "2023-08-30T22:31:30Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And then there’s [Fargo North, Decoder](https://youtu.be/H_xjAEWMVH0). My favorite charactor on _The Electric Company_! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362/40 "2023-08-30T22:33:23Z")
Had a dog named Lakota one time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-in-us-named-dakota/989362.md?page=3)