Fun Facts About the Name Dakarai
- More than 1 thousand babies named Dakarai: U.S. records list 1,510 babies given the name Dakarai from 1880 through 2025. Even 18 girls received the name Dakarai - about 1 girl for every 83 boys.
What Does the Name Dakarai Mean?
Dakarai is a Shona given name from Zimbabwe, most often glossed as "rejoice" or "be happy." Like a number of Shona names, it works as a short spoken statement rather than a description of an object or an ancestor.
The customary meaning is the reliable part: the name is understood as an expression of rejoicing. Its internal makeup is not well documented, so a tidy breakdown into smaller Shona words would be guesswork rather than etymology. Names such as Farai carry a comparable sense in Shona, but Dakarai is a distinct name, not a variant of it, and it has no connection to the place name Dakar.
Dakarai Name History & Origins
Shona is a Bantu language and the first language of the large majority of Zimbabwe's people. In Shona naming custom, a name is commonly chosen by parents or grandparents around the time of a child's birth and often functions as a brief statement: thanks, encouragement, a comment on the family's circumstances, or a wish for the child. Dakarai, with its sense of rejoicing, belongs to that tradition.
Because Shona was transmitted mainly by speech, written records of individual Shona given names are comparatively recent; the language's orthography was standardized in the twentieth century, with the linguist Clement Doke's 1931 unification of the Shona dialects as a major step. The name is now also found among Shona speakers and their descendants living outside Zimbabwe, including in South Africa, Britain, and the United States.
How Popular is the Name Dakarai?
Dakarai has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2009. Its best rank was #2,103 in 2009.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | #15,854 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #14,578 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2001 | #13,926 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,680 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 2024 | #3,702 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2023 | #2,901 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 2022 | #3,350 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 2021 | #3,511 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2020 | #2,558 | 50 | 0.0029% |
| 2019 | #3,111 | 38 | 0.0021% |
| 2018 | #2,639 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 2017 | #2,643 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 2016 | #3,174 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2015 | #2,690 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2014 | #3,550 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2013 | #2,369 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 2012 | #2,334 | 55 | 0.0029% |
| 2011 | #2,807 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 2010 | #2,149 | 62 | 0.0032% |
| 2009 | #2,103 | 65 | 0.0033% |
| 2008 | #2,243 | 59 | 0.0029% |
| 2007 | #2,539 | 49 | 0.0024% |
| 2006 | #2,252 | 56 | 0.0027% |
| 2005 | #2,334 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 2004 | #2,352 | 48 | 0.0024% |
| 2003 | #2,683 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 2002 | #2,515 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 2001 | #2,819 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2000 | #2,485 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 1999 | #2,570 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1998 | #2,871 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1997 | #2,266 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 1996 | #2,548 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1995 | #2,781 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1994 | #2,701 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1993 | #3,392 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1992 | #3,955 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #5,168 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #5,466 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #7,155 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,943 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #5,718 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #4,591 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #3,744 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #4,597 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #4,584 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #3,863 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1978 | #2,956 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #5,258 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #2,976 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1975 | #4,024 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1973 | #5,246 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Dakarai Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Dakarai's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Dakarai's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.