Nakota
A Native American name meaning "allies" or "friends".
Name Census estimates that about 372 living Americans carry the first name Nakota. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 62.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Nakota today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nakota births was 2005 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nakota. 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
372
~ 1 in 921,383 Americans
Peak year
2005
21 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,864
Tracked since 1991
Census
Nakota in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 308 people with the first name Nakota, which placed it at #28,952 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
#28,952
National first-name rank
People counted
308
308 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nakota
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakota is White at 53.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (20.5%) and Two or More Races (11.7%). 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 Nakota 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 Nakota at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.9% · 166
- American Indian and Alaska Native20.5% · 63
- Two or more races11.7% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 25
- Black or African American5.8% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Nakota
Nakota is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 378 total registrations, 235 (62.2%) were male and 143 (37.8%) were female.
Nakota as a male name
- Ranked #11,864 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (15 births)
Nakota as a female name
- Ranked #16,893 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nakota on both sides of the split. Of the 303 people counted with this name, 175 were male (57.8%) and 128 were female (42.2%).
Popularity
Nakota: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nakota from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 121 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nakota remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nakota 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 Nakota 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 Nakota
The name Nakota is of Native American origin, specifically from the Siouan language family spoken by various tribes in the Great Plains region of North America. The name is derived from the word "Nakhota," which translates to "allies" or "friends." It is believed to have originated in the early 18th century or earlier.
The Nakota people, also known as the Yankton-Yanktonai or the Western Dakota, were a division of the larger Dakota/Lakota/Nakota tribes. They have a rich cultural heritage and played a significant role in the history of the Great Plains region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nakota can be found in the journals of French explorers and fur traders who encountered these tribes during their expeditions in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The name appears in various historical documents and accounts from that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nakota. Here are a few examples:
1. Nakota (c. 1820-1890), a respected chief of the Yankton Sioux tribe, known for his diplomatic efforts and efforts to preserve his people's way of life.
2. Nakota Horse (c. 1835-1923), a renowned warrior and medicine man of the Oglala Lakota tribe, who participated in several battles against the U.S. Army.
3. Nakota Wambli (c. 1855-1935), a prominent spiritual leader and elder of the Yanktonai Dakota tribe, who played a significant role in preserving traditional beliefs and practices.
4. Nakota Silverheels (1910-1994), a celebrated actor and dancer from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who appeared in numerous films and television shows, depicting Native American characters.
5. Nakota LaRance (born 1976), a contemporary artist and educator of Hunkpapa Lakota and Aaniihi descent, known for his vibrant paintings and commitment to preserving Indigenous cultures.
These individuals, among others, have carried the name Nakota throughout history, representing the rich cultural heritage and resilience of the Native American tribes from which the name originated.
People
Nakota + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nakota as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nakota: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nakota?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 372 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nakota 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 921,383 US residents.
Is Nakota a common name?
We classify Nakota as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 378 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nakota most popular?
The single biggest year for Nakota was 2005, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nakota 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 Nakota in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 308 people with the name Nakota, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,952 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 Nakota 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 Nakota?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nakota on both sides of the split. Of the 303 people counted with this name, 175 were male (57.8%) and 128 were female (42.2%). 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 Nakota?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakota is White at 53.9%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (20.5%) and Two or More Races (11.7%). 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 Nakota most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nakota in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.9% (166 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 Nakota in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nakota a male name?
Yes, 62.2% of people registered as Nakota 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 Nakota still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nakota 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 Nakota 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 named Nakota?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.