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ArchivesMy column on Dexter
Below is a link to my column on Dexter. As you will see as a given name this has been much more common in the USA than the UK and its regular use started out in Massachusetts. Timothy Dexter was a fascinating character; there are multiple videos about him on YouTube for anyone who's interested in more information. He often gets listed as the luckiest person in history because business decisions he made that looked stupid on the surface nevertheless made him lots of money. I do think some of the examples people give, like sending cats to Caribbean islands, may not have been stupid at all.
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/cleveland-evans-the-name-dexter-could-see-a-reboot-with-new-prequel/article_19eb2d8e-b8c2-11ef-aad0-eb0485f50ac7.html
https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/cleveland-evans-the-name-dexter-could-see-a-reboot-with-new-prequel/article_19eb2d8e-b8c2-11ef-aad0-eb0485f50ac7.html
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Actually, Dexter currently ranks higher on the UK charts than the US charts (it's #174 in the UK and it was briefly in the top 100, while in the US it only ranks at #700 and its peak rank was #262). But I think you're right that its usage as a given name probably started in the US - it definitely sounds American to my ears. Plenty of names that originated in the US are now used in the UK.
I've always associated the name with Dexter's Laboratory (mostly because I never watched Dexter), and because of that I've always seen it as a stereotypical nerd name, kind of like Melvin.
I've always associated the name with Dexter's Laboratory (mostly because I never watched Dexter), and because of that I've always seen it as a stereotypical nerd name, kind of like Melvin.
This message was edited 12/17/2024, 6:45 PM
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