Gender Masculine
Usage English (Rare), Literature, Popular Culture
Meaning & History
From the English word dodger meaning "one who dodges; one who avoids, evades, or sidesteps". Traditionally a nickname, it is occasionally used as a given name. Fictional bearers include Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, a character from Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838) who befriends Oliver and entreats him to join Fagin's team of young pickpockets, as well as the title character in Terry Pratchett's 2012 novel Dodger (loosely based on Dickens' Dodger) and Mark 'Dodger' Savage, a character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks (introduced 2011). Use of the name in the United States may also be due to the popular Major League Baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers (formerly the Brooklyn Dodgers), particularly after World Series wins.