Dexter
Top 1000
About Dexter
The jazzy, ultra-cool Dexter, like most names with an "x," has a lot of energy and dynamism.
Over the years, it's been attached to a number of diverse real and fictional personalities—C. K. Dexter Haven, the witty Cary Grant character in The Philadelphia Story; Dexter Green, the protagonist of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story "Winter Dreams"; great jazz tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon; the boy-genius protagonist of cartoon Dexter's Laboratory; and the most recent TV series Dexter based on the books by Jeff Lindsay, whose lead happens to be a genial but sociopathic serial killer.
Dexter was chosen by hip musical couple Diana Krall and Elvis Costello for one of their twin boys, and by singer Charlotte Church.
Dex is an equally appealing nickname, now sometimes used on its own.
Pronounced DEK-stur.
As of October 2026, Dexter ranked #693 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #262 in 1968, Nameberry popularity #468.
Editor's take: The name Dexter is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "dyer, right-handed".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #396 | 788 | 410.2 |
| 2015 | #412 | 755 | 393.9 |
| 2016 | #441 | 701 | 369.4 |
| 2017 | #447 | 686 | 370.6 |
| 2018 | #476 | 612 | 337 |
| 2019 | #465 | 638 | 355.6 |
| 2020 | #558 | 502 | 290.8 |
| 2021 | #531 | 553 | 316.1 |
| 2022 | #692 | 383 | 219.4 |
| 2023 | #701 | 379 | 221.6 |
| 2024 | #720 | 364 | 211.3 |
| 2025 | #693 | 393 | 230.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dexter.
- Harvey
- Abel
- Quincy
- Morgan
- Rex
- Jules
- Winston
- Robin
- Toby
- Samson
- Jonas
- Reuben
- Quentin
- Duncan
- Jesse
- Teddy
- Zeke
- Noel
- Roman
- Spencer
Dexter on lists
Famous Dexters
- Dexter Lamar Jackson
American NFL football player.
- Dexter Alexander Davis
American NFL football player.
- Dexter Marquise McCluster
American NFL football player.
- Dexter Anthony Carter
American NFL player.
- Dexter Keith McCleon
American NFL player.
- Dexter John Bean
American NASCAR driver
- Dexter Keith Gordon
American saxophonist.
- Bryan Kieth "Dexter" Holland
lead singer of American band The Offspring.
- Dexter Vines
American comic book artist and inker.
- Dexter Fletcher
British actor.
- Dexter Roberts
American country music singer.
- Dexter Horton
founder of the first bank in Seattle.
- Dexter Blackstock
English football player.
- Dexter Brown
British painter.
- Dexter Curtis
American inventor and politician.
- Dexter Scott King
son of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Dexter Henry Lorcan Costello (b. 2006)
son of singers Elvis Costello and Diana Krall.
- Dexter Lloyd Henson (b. 2009)
son of singer Charlotte Church.
Dexter in pop culture
- "Dexter's Laboratory
" animated TV series and its main character.
- Dexter Morgan
a serial killer and main character on the TV show "Dexter".
- C.K. Dexter Haven
character in film The Philadelphia Story & High Society.
- Dexter
main character from David Nicholl's novel "One Day".
- Dexter Jones
character in Sarah Dessen's novel, This Lullaby.
- Dexterous "Dexter" Charming
son of King Charming on TV show "Ever After High".
- Dexter Alvin "Dex" Dizznee
character in "Keeper of the Lost Cities" by Shannon Messenger.
- Dexter Hartman
character on British soap "EastEnders".
- Ramone "Ray" Dexter
one half of gunshark duo Sinister Dexter featured in the British comics anthology 2000 AD.
- Dexter
now known as Dex,Starr, a member of the Red Lantern Corps in the DC Comics universe.
- Dexter "Dex" Barrington
a character in The Country Bears.
- Dexter
young version of the protagonist in the Space Ace video game.
- Dexter Douglas
the alter ego of the title character Freakazoid!
- Dexter Charming
character in "Ever After High".