Dexter (given Name)
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Dexter is an English masculine given name. It is a transferred use of a surname derived from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
word ''deagestre'', meaning “dyer of cloth.” Dexter is also a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
term meaning ''
skill A skill is the learned or innate ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. Some examples of gen ...
ful.'' Usage of the name might have increased in the
Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...
due to well-known figures such as American politician Samuel Dexter (1761–1816) and wealthy American eccentric and author Timothy Dexter (1747–1806). More recently, attention was called to the name in the 1940s and 1950s by different media influences, including the character Dexter Haven in the 1940 American film '' The Philadelphia Story'' and the 1956 American musical ''
High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
'' and the character Dexter Franklin in the ''
Meet Corliss Archer ''Meet Corliss Archer'' is an American radio program from radio's Golden Age that ran from January 7, 1943, to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS's answer to NBC's '' A Date with Judy'', it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer rep ...
'' radio and ''
television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
''. Some 325 more American boys were named Dexter in 1968 than had been given the name in 1967, likely due to news coverage about the family of
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
after he was assassinated. Dexter King (1961–2024) was one of King's sons. The name also increased in use in the United States in 1989 after the character Dex Dexter appeared on the American soap opera ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'' and again between 2006 and 2012 due to the American television series ''
Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...
''.


Given name

*
Dexter Allen Dexter Allen (born July 10, 1970) is an American blues musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. Formerly the lead guitarist for the Airtight Band and blues musician Bobby Rush,
(born 1970), American blues musician *
Dexter Sol Ansell Dexter Sol Ansell (born 16 September 2014) is a British child actor. Early and personal life From Leeds, in Yorkshire, he is the son of former '' Quizmania'' host Debbie (née King) and pop-opera group G4 singer Jonathan Ansell. Career He be ...
(born 2014), English child actor *
Dexter Bean Dexter Bean (born January 5, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro SS for DGM Racing, and also crew chiefs for the te ...
(born 1987), American racing driver *
Dexter Blackstock Dexter Anthony Titus Blackstock (born 20 May 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played most notably for Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest. Having represented England at youth international level, Bla ...
(born 1986), English football player * Dexter Brown (born 1942), British painter *
Dexter Canipe Dexter Canipe (born May 29, 1960) is an American racing driver who won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 1997.Schaefer, Paul. ''Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing''. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Mass ...
(born 1960), American racing driver *
Dexter Carter Dexter Anthony Carter (born September 15, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Fl ...
(born 1967), American football player and coach *
Dexter Coakley William Dexter Coakley (born October 20, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football in Division I-AA for the Appalachian Stat ...
(born 1972), American football player *
Dexter Edgar Converse Dexter Edgar Converse (1829–1899) was a textile entrepreneur who was co-founder and namesake of Converse University. Converse was native of Vermont who had moved to Spartanburg prior to the American Civil War and had become a successful pioneer ...
(1829–1899), American businessman and philanthropist *
Dexter Curtis Dexter Curtis (September 12, 1828 – May 15, 1898) was an American inventor, businessman, and politician. Born in Schenectady, New York, Curtis grew up on a farm. He was in the lumber business and lived in Louisiana, Michigan, and Chicago, Ill ...
(1828–1898), American inventor and politician *
Dexter Dalwood Dexter Dalwood (born 1960) is a British artist now based in Mexico City. Biography From 1981 until 1985 Dalwood attended Saint Martin's School of Art in London and, from 1988 until 1990, the Royal College of Art, London. Before becoming an art ...
(born 1960), British painter *
Dexter Daniels (Aboriginal activist) Dexter Daniels or Nubuluna ( – 24 December 1999) was a Numamurdirdi (Yugul Mangi) man from south-east Arnhem Land and pioneering activist in the struggle for Aboriginal rights and land rights in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s. Danie ...
(1938–c.1990), Aboriginal Australian activist *
Dexter Daniels (American football) Dexter Lavista Daniels (December 8, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for one season with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) in 1996. Daniels played college football for the F ...
(born 1973), American football player *
Dexter Darden Dexter Darden (born June 24, 1991) is an American actor, best known for playing the role of Walter Hill in '' Joyful Noise,'' Frypan in the ''Maze Runner'' film series and Muhammad Ali in Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. Personal life ...
(born 1991), American actor *
Dexter Davis (disambiguation) Dexter Davis may refer to: * Dexter Davis (defensive back) (born 1970), American football player * Dexter Davis (defensive end) (born 1986), American football player * Dexter Davis Jr. (born 1990), American football player {{hndis, Davis, Dext ...
, multiple people *
Dexter Doria Dexter Doria is a Filipino veteran actress. She has appeared in more than 175 films and several television programs from ABS-CBN and GMA Network, often in supporting roles. Early life Doria graduated with a degree in AB Humanities from the U ...
, Filipino actress * Dexter W. Draper (1881–1961), American football player and coach * Dexter Dunphy (born 1934), Australian academic * Dexter Edge (born 1953), American musicologist * Dexter Faulk (born 1984), American track and field athlete * Dexter M. Ferry (1833–1907), American businessman * Dexter M. Ferry Jr. (1873–1959), American politician *
Dexter Filkins Dexter Price Filkins (born May 24, 1961) is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for ''The New York Times''. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanistan ...
(born 1961), American war correspondent * Dexter Fitton (born 1965), English cricketer *
Dexter Fletcher Dexter Fletcher (born 31 January 1966) is an English film director and actor. He has appeared in Guy Ritchie's '' Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', as well as in television shows such as the comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by th ...
(born 1966), British actor * Dexter Fowler (born 1986), American baseball player *
Dexter Goei Dexter Gregory Goei (born 1971) is an American businessman who is former CEO of Altice USA, a subsidiary of multinational telecoms company Altice N.V. Early life Dexter Goei was born in 1971, the son of Dr. Gordon Goei, an obstetrician/gynecol ...
(born 1971), American business executive *
Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...
(1923–1990), American jazz tenor saxophonist * Dexter Grimsley (born 1970), American politician * Dexter Gore Jr (born 1993), American rapper and songwriter *
Dexter Holland Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland (born December 29, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter and composer, and only constant member of the punk rock band the Offspring. He co-found ...
(born 1965), American punk rock singer and musician * Dexter Hope (born 1993), Dutch basketball player * Dexter Horton (1825–1904), American banker * Dexter Jackson (disambiguation), multiple people * Dexter Janke (born 1992), Canadian football player and coach * Dexter Keezer (1895–1991), American economist and college administrator * Dexter Kernich-Drew (born 1991), Australian basketball player * Dexter King (born 1961), American civil rights activist *
Dexter Kozen Dexter Campbell Kozen (born December 20, 1951) is an American theoretical computer scientist. He is Professor Emeritus and Joseph Newton Pew, Jr. Professor in Engineering at Cornell University. Career Kozen received his BA in mathematics from ...
(born 1951), American computer scientist *
Dexter Lawrence Dexter Lawrence II (born November 12, 1997), nicknamed "Sexy Dexy", is an American professional American football, football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tig ...
(born 1997), American football player *
Dexter Lumis Samuel Robert Shaw (born January 17, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Dexter Lumis ( ) and is a member of The Wyatt Sicks faction. He is also known fo ...
(born 1984), WWE wrestling superstar * Dexter Manley (born 1959), American football player *
Dexter McDougle Dexter McDougle (born April 8, 1991) is an American former professional football cornerback. He was selected by the New York Jets in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Maryland. Early life McDougle played for S ...
(born 1991), American football player * Dexter Roberts (born 1991), American country music singer *
Dexter Simmons Dexter Simmons (born August 27, 1983) is an American fashion designer and reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather t ...
(born 1983), American fashion designer * Dexter Tortoriello (born 1986), American singer-songwriter and record producer *
Dexter Vines Dexter Vines is an American comic book artist and inker, known for his collaborations with pencilers such as Steve McNiven and Ed McGuinness, the latter of whom he is credited with as "eDex" team. Career Vines has worked on a multitude of titl ...
, American comic book artist and inker * Dexter Williams (born 1997), American football player * Dexter Williams II (born 2002), American football player


Fictional characters

* Dexter, also known as
Dex-Starr Beatriz Da Costa Reep Daggle Dagon Dan the Dyna-Mite Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Danny Dunbar was the star pupil of Thomas N. Thomas, a high school chemistry and phys ...
, a member of the Red Lantern Corps in the DC Universe * Dexter, the title character from ''
Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows Dexter, an enthusiastic boy-genius with a science laboratory in his bedroom, which he keeps secret from his u ...
'' * Dexter, a monkey from the ''Night at the Museum'' film series, played by
Crystal the Monkey Crystal (born May 6, 1994) is a female tufted capuchin and List of animals in film and television, animal actress, acquired and trained by Birds & Animals Unlimited, Hollywood's largest supplier of animals. Her acting career began as a baby monkey ...
* Dexter, young version of the protagonist in the ''
Space Ace ''Space Ace'' is a LaserDisc video game produced by Bluth Group, Cinematronics and Advanced Microcomputer Systems (later renamed RDI Video Systems). It was unveiled in October 1983, just four months after the ''Dragon's Lair'' game, followed by ...
'' video game * Dexter "Dex" Barrington, a character in '' The Country Bears'' * Ramone "Ray" Dexter, one half of the gunshark duo
Sinister Dexter ''Sinister Dexter'' is a long-running comics series in British comics anthology '' 2000 AD'', created by Dan Abnett and David Millgate. Overview Set in the near future, it features the exploits of gun sharks (hitmen) Finnigan "Finny" Sinister ...
in the British comics anthology '' 2000 AD'' * Dexter "Dex" Dizznee, a character from the novel series ''
Keeper of the Lost Cities ''Keeper of the Lost Cities'' is an upper- middle-grade fantasy series by Shannon Messenger that has appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for a total of ten weeks. Plot summary The protagonist of the series, Sophie, is a twel ...
'' * Dexter DeShawn, a character from the video game '' Cyberpunk 2077 '' * Dexter Douglas, the alter ego of the title character in ''
Freakazoid! ''Freakazoid!'' is an American superhero comedy animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title char ...
'' *
Dexter Hartman Dexter Hartman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Khali Best. His debut was on 7 January 2013. Dexter is the grandson of Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell) and son of her illegitimate daughter, Ava Hartman ( Clare P ...
, a character from ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' * Dexter Jettster, proprietor of Dex's Diner and criminal informant in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' *
Dexter Morgan Dexter Morgan (born Dexter Moser), also known as The Bay Harbor Butcher, is a fictional serial killer and the antihero protagonist of the ''Dexter'' book series written by Jeff Lindsay (writer), Jeff Lindsay, as well as the Dexter (TV series), tel ...
, a fictional serial killer/vigilante and blood spatter analyst created by writer Jeff Lindsay * Dexter Mulholland, a character from ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' * Dexter Walker, a character in the Australian soap opera ''
Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...
'' * Charles Dexter Ward, the protagonist of the cosmic horror novel ''
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward ''The Case of Charles Dexter Ward'' is a short horror novel (51,500 words) by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's lifetime. Set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...
'' by
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
* Dexter Vex, a character from the ''
Skulduggery Pleasant ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' is a series of Dark fantasy, dark fantasy novels written by Irish author Derek Landy. Tom Percival is the series' illustrator. The books revolve around the adventures of fledgling detective Valkyrie Cain and her mentor ...
'' series by Derek Landy


References

{{reflist English masculine given names Masculine given names