Dustin
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Meaning
from a surname derived from Old Norse 'Thorstein', meaning 'Thor's stone'
The story
Dustin is usually traced through an English surname to Old Norse Thorstein, Thor's stone, which gives the mellow modern sound an unexpectedly mythic floor: hammer-god bedrock under a name that reads completely relaxed. It made scattered trace appearances from the 1910s on, gaps included, then rose sharply once Dustin Hoffman became one of America's defining actors from the late 1960s onward, and its peak lands in the 1980s among that decade's characteristic boys' names, alongside Justin and Brandon. It has eased steadily since without disappearing. The arc pairs a rising screen career with a rising curve, and the record does not settle which way the influence ran. Dusty still waits inside it as the boots-on short form. Either way, the Norse stone under the surname keeps its footing while the fashion around it moves.
How popular is Dustin around the world?
In the United States, 2,432 babies were named Dustin between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 10 boys were registered as Dustin in 2017.
Dustin is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England and Wales, Chile, Austria, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 9,000
In the United States, 2,432 babies were named Dustin between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dustin peaked in the 1980s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 1,8002017
In South Australia, 10 boys were registered as Dustin in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 boys named Dustin were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 12,000
In Canada, 30 boys named Dustin were born in 2024, the 857th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 28,000
In England and Wales, 21 boys named Dustin were born in 2025, ranked 1,307th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Chile
1 in 30,000
In Chile, 6 boys were registered as Dustin in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Dustin was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Spain
1 in 690,000
In Spain, 65 residents are named Dustin, ranked 11,667th among men, with a mean age of 21.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
last on record 2023
Dustin is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 40 people in Brazil were named Dustin, ranked 77,494th, with a median age of 31.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 1981
Dustin is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Dustin is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Dustin is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Poland
last on record 2016
Dustin is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Dustin is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Dustin
Most people given the name Dustin in the United States were born between 1980 and 1999. The Dustin you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Dustin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dustin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Dustin fits with your family’s names and surname.
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