Dexter

What Dexter means

Means “right (handed)”

Also partially from Latin dexter (“right (handed)”). (cattle breed): Apparently named after a factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Island. (serial killer): After the fictional Dexter Morgan in the TV series Dexter.

Source: Wiktionary, “Dexter” (revision 94538754), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Dexter?

US: Falling: down from #412 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #79 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2012, when 842 boys got the name (#361 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 4,346 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 786 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,910 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NE (0.79 per 1,000 boys), AR (0.48 per 1,000 boys), OR (0.46 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Dexter is #692 in the US and #154 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Dexter were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Daxter9 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Dexter

Boys

• Desmond#376Editor’s note Down from #351 in 2015 to #376 in 2025 in the US
• Marshall#340Editor’s note Down from #319 in 2015 to #340 in 2025 in the US
• Brantley#499Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #122 in 2015, #499 in 2025
• Kendrick#535Editor’s note Down from #366 in 2015 to #535 in 2025 in the US
• Royce#499Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #499 vs #1,307 in 2025
• Colt#285From the word “colt”^*

For a sister

• Everleigh#194“wild boar + woodland clearing”^*
• Collins#241“descendant of Coileán”^*
• Blake#295“black”^*
• Kori#978Form of Corey, possibly meaning “troop, host, company”^*
• Scarlett#32Editor’s note Down from #22 in 2015 to #32 in 2025 in the US
• Blakely#191Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #191 vs #1,407 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Dexter’s. Rank is US 2025.