boy's name
Dustin
DUS-tin
- Origin Norse
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 215,843
the United States
#728
2025 births
Dustin is a boy's name from the Old Norse Thorstein, meaning Thor's stone — the dust in the spelling is pure coincidence. Its use as a given name follows one actor, Dustin Hoffman, who was himself named after a silent-film star.
- Dustin is a name of Norse origin.
- Peaked in 1985, when 10,520 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 9,083 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1916.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Dustin over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 28 |
| 1920s | 53 |
| 1930s | 17 |
| 1940s | 196 |
| 1950s | 284 |
| 1960s | 1,625 |
| 1970s | 26,867 |
| 1980s | 98,153 |
| 1990s | 56,935 |
| 2000s | 16,587 |
| 2010s | 6,544 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,432 |
What Dustin means
Dustin means Thor's stone. The Norse joins the thunder god's name to a word for a stone, so both halves belong to the vocabulary of the old religion rather than to Christianity.
Where Dustin comes from
Dustin descends from the Old Norse Þorsteinn — Thor, the thunder god, joined to steinn, a stone — which became the English surname Thurstan and then Dustin. The dust in the modern spelling is coincidence, not derivation. Its life as a given name is traceable: Dustin Hoffman was named after Dustin Farnum, a silent-film Western star, and Hoffman's own fame from The Graduate in 1967 turned an obscure surname into a common first name, with the curve peaking eighteen years later as that generation had children.
Dustin in use
Dustin peaked in the United States in 1985, when 10,520 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 728th in the United States on 365 births, 1318th in England and Wales on 21 and 5432nd in France, across 215,843 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1916, but almost all of its volume falls after 1967.
How popular is Dustin?
In 2025, Dustin was given to 365 babies in the United States, ranking #728 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Dustin is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Dustin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dustin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dustin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Dustin
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Dustin in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Dustin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dustin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dustin
What does the name Dustin mean?
Thor's stone — from the Old Norse Þorsteinn, by way of the surname Thurstan.
Is Dustin related to dust?
No. The resemblance is coincidence; the name comes from Thor and a word for stone.
Where does Dustin Hoffman's name come from?
He was named after Dustin Farnum, a silent-film Western star.
How popular is Dustin?
728th in the United States, down from a 1985 peak of 10,520 births.
Is Dustin a girl's or a boy's name?
Dustin is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Dustin?
Dustin has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Dustin?
Dustin is usually shortened to Dusty.
Is Dustin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dustin currently ranks #728 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.