Dakayla
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Latin or French elements.
Name Census estimates that about 488 living Americans carry the first name Dakayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dakayla today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dakayla births was 2006 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dakayla. 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
488
~ 1 in 702,365 Americans
Peak year
2006
36 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,988
Tracked since 1995
Census
Dakayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 373 people with the first name Dakayla, which placed it at #25,428 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
#25,428
National first-name rank
People counted
373
373 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dakayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dakayla is Black at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and White (4.8%). 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 Dakayla 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 Dakayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.2% · 314
- Two or more races6.7% · 25
- White4.8% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Popularity
Dakayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dakayla 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 257 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
Dakayla 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 Dakayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dakaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Dakayla, while Florida, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dakayla
The given name Dakayla is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the late 20th century or early 21st century. There is little evidence of its historical usage or linguistic roots, as it does not appear to be derived from any specific language or cultural tradition.
Some speculation suggests that Dakayla may be a blend of two or more existing names, possibly combining elements from popular names like Dakota or Kayla. However, the exact origins and meaning behind this name remain obscure.
Due to its recent emergence, there are no known historical references or appearances of the name Dakayla in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. Similarly, there are no prominent figures from distant history who are known to have borne this name.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Dakayla are likely from modern birth records or personal accounts within the past few decades. As a relatively uncommon and contemporary name, there are no widely recognized famous individuals throughout history associated with this particular first name.
It is worth noting that naming trends and preferences can evolve rapidly, and new names can sometimes gain popularity without a clear or established historical background. Dakayla may fall into this category, reflecting the creative and individualistic approach to naming that has become more prevalent in recent times.
People
Dakayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dakayla 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
Dakayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dakayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 488 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dakayla 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 702,365 US residents.
Is Dakayla a common name?
We classify Dakayla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 495 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dakayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Dakayla was 2006, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dakayla is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dakayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 373 people with the name Dakayla, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,428 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 Dakayla 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 Dakayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dakayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 376 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Dakayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dakayla is Black at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and White (4.8%). 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 Dakayla most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dakayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (314 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 Dakayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dakayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dakayla in the SSA data are female. 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 Dakayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dakayla 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 Dakayla 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 Dakayla?
Find out how many people have the name Dakayla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.