Dexter Surname

25,624th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 21,029 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
French Polynesia

Dexter Surname Definition:

(Anglo-French-Latin), a nickname from the Charger or War-Horse [Middle English dextrer, Old French destrier, Low Latin dextrari-us; Latin dexter, right] And by hym baiteth his dextrer of herbes fyne and goode.— Chaucer, Cant. Tales, B 2103-4.

Read More About This Surname

Dexter Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States13,6531:26,5483,335
England4,2561:13,0921,931
Canada9581:38,4614,829
Australia5941:45,4475,703
French Polynesia2701:1,040126
South Africa2501:216,71122,792
New Zealand1421:31,8905,546
Indonesia1111:1,191,43484,297
Wales701:44,2084,243
Scotland541:99,1456,812
Jamaica531:54,1503,046
India511:15,040,498247,985
Botswana441:49,7039,263
Malaysia421:702,24333,141
New Caledonia361:7,6731,760
Singapore301:183,5907,666
Ireland301:156,9657,012
Philippines251:4,049,529157,830
Germany251:3,220,218147,383
Ecuador191:837,15013,424
Spain181:2,597,33559,996
Israel171:503,39037,521
Brazil171:12,592,608246,358
Mexico141:8,866,15837,743
France141:4,744,480251,814
Solomon Islands141:41,4318,080
Netherlands141:1,206,22770,951
Switzerland141:586,63740,624
Northern Ireland111:167,7318,683
China111:124,301,9616,553
Sweden101:984,67673,605
Denmark91:627,19136,734
Ghana91:3,002,29911,581
Liberia91:489,83723,279
United Arab Emirates81:1,145,28440,289
Thailand71:10,091,192512,203
Algeria61:6,438,59253,709
Guyana61:127,0377,965
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
Nigeria51:35,428,552388,973
Serbia41:1,786,23730,138
Burundi41:2,451,2131,279
Russia41:36,030,764577,589
Papua New Guinea41:2,038,429140,827
Malawi41:4,279,77724,060
Italy41:15,289,172132,955
Mauritius41:323,35410,053
Egypt41:22,983,93862,368
Mozambique41:6,815,3924,272
Japan31:42,614,76459,022
Uganda31:13,013,093160,157
Norway31:1,714,09579,528
Colombia21:23,887,03632,612
Ukraine21:22,761,348425,733
Pakistan21:89,321,942157,560
Venezuela21:15,102,03869,873
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Ivory Coast21:11,535,61661,806
Turkey21:38,910,711171,901
Zimbabwe21:7,719,120118,432
Iran21:38,391,262236,033
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Bangladesh11:159,356,77326,077
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Vanuatu11:263,2762,086
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Latvia11:2,050,04660,295
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Libya11:6,243,9746,186
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Malta11:430,2723,380
Cameroon11:20,769,068227,406
El Salvador11:6,343,8888,415
Oman11:3,687,97114,390
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Saint Kitts and Nevis11:55,1991,294
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland231:192,6039,322
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2,1981:11,0901,698
Wales21:784,20816,349
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,6361:13,8121,774

The alternate forms: Déxter (1) are calculated separately.

Dexter (112,673) may also be a first name.

Dexter Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Anglo-French-Latin), a nickname from the Charger or War-Horse [Middle English dextrer, Old French destrier, Low Latin dextrari-us; Latin dexter, right] And by hym baiteth his dextrer of herbes fyne and goode.— Chaucer, Cant. Tales, B 2103-4.

The squire led his master’s horse on his right hand.

(English) perh. confused with Dyster, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who dyed cloth.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Possibly from Latin dexter, in the sense of lucky, fortunate-the antithesis of sinister; but more likely a contraction of De Exeter, from the chief town of Devonshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A contraction of De Exeter, from the city of Exeter, in Devonshire, England; anciently written Excester, from Exe, the name of the river on which it is situated, and cester, a camp or town, for the derivation of which see Chester.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

(English), de Exeter, of Exeter; or Destrier or Dextrier, War-horse? (variant: Pointdexter, den Hengst, and Schimmel.) Jor­dan de Exeter, founder of the Irish family of MacJordan, was called also Dexcestre and Dexecester. Richard Dexter, of Malden, Mass., was made freeman in 1642. One of his descendants, the Hon. Samuel Dexter, was Secretary of the Treasury of the U.S. in 1801.

Surnames (1857) by Bernard Homer Dixon

Dexter is an old Leicestershire name. William Dexter held the Dutchy or Hakluyt Manor in Hallaton in the 15th century (C.). A gentle family of the name owned property in Thedingworth in the reign of Elizabeth. William Dexter lived at Worthington in the reign of Charles I.; there were families of the Dexters in Wartnaby and Abkettleby in the 17th and 18th centuries (N.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

User-submitted Reference

Dexter is a variant of the German surname Textor/Texter, from the Latin textor, meaning 'weaver'.

It is an Americanized form of the surname Duksta/Dūkšta, a surname found in Latvia and Lithuania. The Polish surname Dukszta is another variant. The surname is either from the village called Dūkštos in Lithuania, or from the river Dūkšta, which the town derives its name from. Some bearers also have their surname derived from the town called Dūkštas in Lithuania, named after the lake Dūkštas.

For some Dutch bearers, Dexter is a variant of d'Exter, which is a variant of Den Exter. Exter is derived from the Dutch word ekster, meaning 'Eurasian magpie', or 'magpie' (a type of bird), so it is probably a nickname surname.

- charlesman

Dykstra originates in Northern Europe, where it was given to someone who lived next to a Dyke. Some changed it to Dexter when they migrated the the United States.

- skellux

Dexter Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Dexter Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Dexter (Marathi: डेक्टर) is more frequently found in The United States than any other country or territory. It can also occur in the variant forms: Déxter. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Dexter? popularity and diffusion

It is the 25,624th most frequently occurring surname internationally, borne by approximately 1 in 346,547 people. The surname Dexter occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 58 percent of Dexter reside; 57 percent reside in North America and 57 percent reside in Anglo-North America. Dexter is also the 9,130th most commonly used given name world-wide, borne by 112,673 people.

It is most prevalent in The United States, where it is borne by 13,653 people, or 1 in 26,548. In The United States Dexter is mostly found in: California, where 9 percent live, Florida, where 6 percent live and Massachusetts, where 4 percent live. Excluding The United States this last name exists in 94 countries. It also occurs in England, where 20 percent live and Canada, where 5 percent live.

Dexter Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Dexter has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Dexter surname rose 375 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 194 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 3,500 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it rose 130 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Dexter Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Dexter last name is predominantly Anglican (78%) in Ireland and Christian (100%) in Kenya.

In The United States those holding the Dexter last name are 13.13% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 59.9% registered with the party.

The amount Dexter earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 52.65% more than the national average, earning 528,280 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 42.49% more than the national average, earning R 338,604 per year; in United States they earn 1.47% more than the national average, earning $43,784 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.61% less than the national average, earning $49,381 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Déxter941/
Dexster926/
Dexther924/
Dextere921/
Dexte912/
Dextre834,610/
Dester83886/
Daxter8388/
Dixter8316/
Doxter8314/
Dezter832/
Dextee831/
Dextei831/
Dextes830/
Dexterová801/
Deuster771,222/
Deister771,200/
Diester77292/
Dechter77292/
Dekster7760/
Destere7753/
Deyster7753/
Desther7712/
Destier777/
Desteur777/
Decster774/
Destger771/
Detster771/
Dexttre771/
Deaster770/
Dixte7314/
Dexta738/
Dexty732/
Desterre7131/
Destgeer7129/
Deastier711/
Dechtert711/
Deisster711/
Deichter711/
D'Estere711/
Desteire711/
Deschter710/
Destre67643/
Dister67367/
Dyster67288/
Däster67204/
Deischter6790/
Desteirdt6755/
D'esterre6741/
Deaxta673/
Desterova671/
Destir671/
Deesterre670/

Dexter Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Dexter in the Marathi language
डेक्टरdektara60
डेक्सटेरdeksatera20
डेक्टेरdektera20

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Dexter Reference & Research

Dexter One-name Study - A profile of the Dexter surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

Dexter FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Dexter
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis