Dak Prescott's Real Name: Rayne Dakota Prescott
Dak Prescott → Rayne Dakota Prescott
Quick answer: He is known as Dak Prescott. Encyclopaedia Britannica says Dak Prescott is the byname of Rayne Dakota Prescott, born July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana. Mississippi State University's football biography independently says his "full name is Rayne Dakota Prescott" and gives the same date and birthplace. "Dak" comes from his middle name, Dakota.
Real name and early life
Britannica gives "Byname of: Rayne Dakota Prescott," born July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana. Mississippi State's athletics biography says, "Full name is Rayne Dakota Prescott," lists the same birth date and town, and names his parents as Nathaniel and the late Peggy Prescott. A Library of Congress record lists the same full name but cites July 19, 1993, from a book galley.
Britannica says his parents were high school sweethearts who later divorced, and that he grew up in a mobile home with two older brothers, raised by his mother, who worked several jobs. Mississippi State names the brothers as Tad and Jace and lists Haughton, Louisiana, as his hometown. Both sources say he passed for 2,860 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior at Haughton High School, which went unbeaten in the regular season.
Career highlights
Britannica says he enrolled at Mississippi State in 2011, became the starter after an injury to the incumbent, and finished as the second player in Southeastern Conference history, after Tim Tebow, to pass for at least 8,500 yards and run for at least 2,000. Mississippi State says he earned his undergraduate degree in December 2014 and a master's degree in workforce leadership in December 2015.
Britannica says his mother died of colon cancer in 2013, while he was at Mississippi State, and that he wears No. 4 to honor her September 4 birthday. It says he has championed colon cancer research and has spoken about mental health, including after his brother Jace's death in 2020.
Britannica says he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round in 2016, 135th overall, behind seven other quarterbacks. Pressed into the lineup after injuries to Tony Romo and Kellen Moore, he led Dallas to a 13–3 record and won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Britannica records a career-high 37 touchdown passes in 2021 after a 2020 ankle fracture, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award after the 2022 season, a second-place MVP finish for 2023, and a hamstring injury that ended his 2024 season early.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up Dak Prescott or Rayne Dakota Prescott are looking for the same Cowboys quarterback. Tad and Jace Prescott are his older brothers.
FAQ
What is Dak Prescott's real name?
Britannica and Mississippi State both record Rayne Dakota Prescott.
Where does the name Dak come from?
It is short for his middle name, Dakota, as shown in both sources' full name.
When and where was he born?
Both give July 29, 1993, in Sulphur, Louisiana.
Why does he wear No. 4?
Britannica says it honors his late mother's September 4 birthday.