Dustin

The name Dustin jumped onto the U.S. male naming charts for the first time at a remarkable position of #368 in 1968. What was the sudden interest in this name? Well, one of the highest-grossing films of all time, “The Graduate” had just been released to American audiences everywhere in December of 1967. Its break-out star was of course the young Dustin Hoffman. Clearly, he was the inspiration behind the name’s abrupt popularity. Dustin quickly climbed the charts and was a Top 100 favorite by 1975. The peak popularity for Dustin came in the 1980s when the name was a constant Top 50 pick for little boys. Since the turn of the 21st century, however, Dustin has dropped fairly significantly year-over-year. It has quickly fallen back down to levels of only moderate usage. Dustin is a cute name. People often think of the “dusty” old west and associate Dustin with cowboys. The name’s etymology is no doubt rooted in “toughness” (i.e. the Norse god Thor) – but Dustin is really a “cuter” version of the rough-and-tumble names we think of when we conjure up the Old West (Cody, Wyatt, Colton, Carson and Hunter). Dustin is more genteel, like Justin, Westin or Tristin [sic]. And of course, we also think of the unpleasant household chore (“I’m just dustin’ the furniture, Ma”). Dustin is a name with schizophrenic tendencies. Am I strong and rugged? Or am I soft and cute? You’ll have to be the judge of that one.