Dexter comes from an English occupational surname for a "dyer" of cloth, from the Old English deagestre, but it is also read as the Latin dexter, "right-handed" or "skillful". Jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon and the cartoon boy genius of Dexter's Laboratory gave the name a clever, slightly quirky image. Dexter ranked number 755 in the United States in 2000, peaked at number 361 in 2012 and has settled back to number 693 in 2025.