How Many People Are Named Dexter?
An estimated 31,193 people in the United States have the first name Dexter. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 37 years old, and Dexter peaked in popularity in 2012 with 842 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Dexter as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Dexter paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Dexter is overwhelmingly male, 218 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
31,193
About 1 in 10,988 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
37
years old
Peak Year
2012
842 births
Total Registered
36,404
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Dexter
Dexter is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 36,404 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Dexter as a male name
Ranked #720 in 2024
364 male births in 2024
Peak: 2012 (842 births)
Dexter as a female name
Ranked #12,316 in 1988
5 female births in 1988
Peak: 1923 (16 births)
Dexter: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Dexter span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 7,152 babies were registered. While Dexter is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Dexter by Decade
How has Dexter tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 75 | 75 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 65 | 65 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 98 | 87 | 11 | |
| 1910s | 529 | 511 | 18 | |
| 1920s | 923 | 856 | 67 | |
| 1930s | 820 | 820 | 0 | |
| 1940s | 1,462 | 1,456 | 6 | |
| 1950s | 3,508 | 3,484 | 24 | |
| 1960s | 4,939 | 4,902 | 37 | |
| 1970s | 3,895 | 3,869 | 26 | |
| 1980s | 4,319 | 4,290 | 29 | |
| 1990s | 3,862 | 3,862 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 2,576 | 2,576 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 7,152 | 7,152 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 2,181 | 2,181 | 0 | |
Dexter by State
Birth registrations for Dexter span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Georgia, California, Texas. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana. On average, about 646 Dexters were registered per state.
Dexter + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Dexter as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Dexter
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Dexter: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dexter?
We estimate approximately 31,193 people named Dexter are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 10,988 Americans share this first name.
Is Dexter a common name?
Dexter is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 36,404 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Dexter most popular?
Dexter reached peak popularity in 2012, when 842 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Dexter is approximately 37 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Dexter a male name?
Dexter is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Dexter Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Dexter Smith, Dexter Johnson, Dexter Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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