How common is the surname Dexter?

10,099 people in the United States had the surname Dexter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,572 Americans. It ranked 3,535th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Dexter?

Brad Dexter, American actor (1917–2002), followed by Samuel Dexter.

Where is the surname Dexter most common?

Wikidata records people named Dexter in the United States.

How do you pronounce Dexter?

Dexter is /ˈdɛkstɚ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Dexter getting more or less common?

More common. 9,660 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,099 in 2010, up 4.5%.

Is Dexter also a first name?

Yes. Dexter is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Dexter

A Latin occupational surname, carried by 10,099 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈdɛkstɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex D236 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Dexter is more common than 97.8% of them.

Origin

Latin origin

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

Dexter is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 10,099 people named Dexter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 30,572 Americans. That is up 4.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,660.

#3,535

rank among US surnames

10,099

people in 2010

3.4

per 100,000 Americans

+4.5%

change since 2000 (was #3,390)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,526	McDuffie	10,125	30,493
#3,527	Betz	10,120	30,508
#3,528	Alderman	10,119	30,511
#3,529	Tice	10,118	30,514
#3,530	DeSantis	10,117	30,517
#3,531	Ashworth	10,116	30,521
#3,532	Tafoya	10,114	30,527

Who is named Dexter

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Dexter identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Two or more races 2.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Dexters

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Brad Dexter
American actor (1917–2002)
Samuel Dexter
American politician (1761–1816) who served in Congress and in Presidential Cabinets of Joh
Timothy Dexter
American businessman and author (1747–1806)
Elliott Dexter
American actor (1970–1941)
Anthony Dexter
American actor, 1913–2001
Pete Dexter
American writer, born 1943
Annabelle Dexter-Jones
American actress, born 1986
Al Dexter
American singer-songwriter, 1905–1984
Timothy Treadwell
American documentary filmmaker (1957–2003)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Dyster

Dexter has the Soundex code D236, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D236.

Other Latin surnames

All 91 Latin surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Dexter come from?: Variant of Dyster. Also partially from Latin dexter (“right (handed)”).
How common is the surname Dexter?: 10,099 people in the United States had the surname Dexter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,572 Americans. It ranked 3,535th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Dexter?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Dexter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Dexter?: Brad Dexter, American actor (1917–2002), followed by Samuel Dexter.
Where is the surname Dexter most common?: Wikidata records people named Dexter in the United States.
How do you pronounce Dexter?: Dexter is /ˈdɛkstɚ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Dexter?: Dexter is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Dexter getting more or less common?: More common. 9,660 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,099 in 2010, up 4.5%.
What are other spellings of Dexter?: Dyster.
Is Dexter also a first name?: Yes. Dexter is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.