Dexter

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Dexter: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Dexter: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #63 in 2013, and it stood at #143 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
59times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#63highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Dexter's record

England and Wales registered 1,019 births with the name in 2013, its largest count from any one registrar. Names by yearly birth count

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#406
1997	#484
1998	#351
1999	#387
2000	#596
2001	#416
2002	#397
2003	#365
2004	#408
2005	#295
2006	#279
2007	#240
2008	#179
2009	#125
2010	#98
2011	#78
2012	#70
2013	#63
2014	#73
2015	#79
2016	#83
2017	#86
2018	#95
2019	#114
2020	#124
2021	#133
2022	#156
2023	#174
2024	#143

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2024: #143 among boys in England and Wales, #404 among boys in Scotland, #785 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #406 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #63 among boys in England and Wales, in 2013 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #143 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Dexter appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 11,627 births with the name.

Dexter across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Dexter's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#406 (1996)	#63 (2013)	#143 (2024)	29 of 29	11,627 (1996–2024)	1,019 (2013)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#701 (2009)	#286 (2014)	#785 (2024)	16 of 16	113 (2009–2024)	16 (2014)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#291 (2008)	#228 (2014)	#304 (2020)	13 of 13	72 (2008–2020)	9 (2014)

Dexter by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Dexter in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	215	4 of 10	54
2000s	1,447	10 of 10	145
2010sbusiest	8,078	10 of 10	808
2020s	1,887	5 of 10	377

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 808 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2008 and 2009, when recorded births rose by 201, from 275 to 476.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Dexter appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #63 in England and Wales in 2013.

Dexter's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#143	381	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#174	294	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#156	335	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#133	427	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#124	450	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#114	542	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#95	676	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#86	788	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#83	831	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#79	850	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#73	908	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#63	1,019	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#70	955	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#78	833	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#98	676	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#125	476	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#179	275	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#240	174	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#279	129	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#295	109	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#408	68	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#365	75	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#397	58	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#416	52	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#596	31	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#387	58	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#351	67	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#484	39	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#406	51	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#304	5	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#312	5	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#416	3	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#250	7	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#281	6	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#259	7	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#228	9	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#271	6	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#273	6	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#261	6	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#387	3	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#329	4	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#291	5	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#785	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#660	4	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#657	4	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#755	3	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#556	5	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#646	4	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#749	3	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#448	7	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#329	13	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#286	16	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#296	15	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#336	12	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	12	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#542	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#701	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#404	8	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #63, first reached in 2013.

It held a top-100 place in 9 years, 9 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 1,019 births, registered in England and Wales in 2013.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2008, and 28 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Dewi · #390, 29y
Dex · #2730, 13y
Deya · #2574, 18y
Deyan · #2813, 11y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Cheyenne · #63, 29y
Farrah · #63, 31y
Myla · #63, 24y
Romy · #63, 32y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Cheyenne · #63, 29y
Indiana · #63, 30y
Romy · #63, 32y
Lykke · #64, 27y

Dexter was ranked #63 in England and Wales · Boys in 2013. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Dexter and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Dexter without appearing here.

Dexter moved ahead of

Ashleigh Compare
In 1997 they stood at #484 and #471 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #351 and #669.
Gary Compare
In 2004 they stood at #408 and #394 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #295 and #574.
Courtney Compare
In 1997 they stood at #484 and #399 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #351 and #554.
Wayne Compare
In 2001 they stood at #416 and #401 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #397 and #568.

Moved ahead of Dexter

Braxton Compare
In 2016 they stood at #448 and #491 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2017 that had become #610 and #336.
Mathias Compare
In 2022 they stood at #657 and #779 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2023 that had become #660 and #396.
Theodore Compare
In 2013 they stood at #271 and #343 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2014 that had become #228 and #184.
Arthur Compare
In 2008 they stood at #291 and #378 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2009 that had become #329 and #293.

Moved the opposite way to Dexter

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 while Aaron went from #33 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 while Adam went from #16 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 while Alan went from #163 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 while Alex went from #43 to #171.

Moved the same way as Dexter

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 and Albie from #853 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 and Alfie from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 and Alfred from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Dexter went from #406 to #143 and Archie from #192 to #10.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #63 in England and Wales in 2013. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Dexter

Dexter at a glance

What stands out in Dexter's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Dexter across 3 official records

Dexter by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Dexter appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Dexter

Dexter and the names beside it

Dexter moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dexter

Moved the opposite way to Dexter

Moved the same way as Dexter

Dexter at a glance

What stands out in Dexter's record

Dexter across 3 official records

Dexter by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Dexter appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Dexter

Dexter and the names beside it

Dexter moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dexter

Moved the opposite way to Dexter

Moved the same way as Dexter