# Dexter (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/dexter/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “right (handed)” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɛkstɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Dyster |
| US babies named this | 36,800 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 36,582 / 218 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 11,973, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Variant of Dyster. Also partially from Latin dexter (“right (handed)”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5 | 6,802 |
| 1963 | 6 | 6,049 |
| 1966 | 8 | 4,974 |
| 1968 | 8 | 5,255 |
| 1969 | 10 | 4,794 |
| 1970 | 6 | 7,305 |
| 1971 | 5 | 8,664 |
| 1972 | 5 | 8,594 |
| 1976 | 5 | 9,671 |
| 1977 | 5 | 10,013 |
| 1980 | 6 | 9,386 |
| 1982 | 5 | 10,916 |
| 1985 | 6 | 9,625 |
| 1986 | 7 | 8,783 |
| 1988 | 5 | 12,317 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 753 | 384 |
| 2012 | 842 | 361 |
| 2013 | 784 | 382 |
| 2014 | 788 | 396 |
| 2015 | 755 | 413 |
| 2016 | 703 | 439 |
| 2017 | 686 | 447 |
| 2018 | 613 | 475 |
| 2019 | 638 | 466 |
| 2020 | 503 | 558 |
| 2021 | 554 | 531 |
| 2022 | 383 | 692 |
| 2023 | 380 | 700 |
| 2024 | 364 | 724 |
| 2025 | 393 | 693 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 833 | 78 |
| 2012 | 955 | 70 |
| 2013 | 1,019 | 63 |
| 2014 | 908 | 73 |
| 2015 | 850 | 79 |
| 2016 | 831 | 83 |
| 2017 | 788 | 86 |
| 2018 | 676 | 95 |
| 2019 | 542 | 114 |
| 2020 | 450 | 124 |
| 2021 | 427 | 133 |
| 2022 | 335 | 156 |
| 2023 | 294 | 174 |
| 2024 | 381 | 143 |
| 2025 | 346 | 154 |

## In other languages

- French: Dexter
- Greek: Ντέξτερ
- Japanese: デクスター
- Portuguese: Dexter
- Russian: Де́кстер

## People named Dexter

- Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (1923–1990)
- Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
- Dexter Jackson, American bodybuilder
- Dexter Blackstock, Antigua and Barbuda footballer
- Dexter Darden, American actor
- Dexter Fowler, American baseball player (born 1986)
- Dexter Pittman, American basketball player (born 1988)
- Dexter Scott King, American civil rights activist (1961-2024)
- Dexter Lawrence, American football player (born 1997)
- Dexter Boney, American basketball player (born 1970)
- Dexter Strickland, American basketball player (born 1990)
- Dexter Manley, American football player

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.