Dwight is a masculine

first name First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

that comes from an English surname which was in turn derived from the medieval feminine name Diot, a diminutive of

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the sec ...

, the feminine form of

Dionysios The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

. The name is mainly given in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

countries (see below).

Notable people

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, (1890–1969), five-star general and 34th President of the United States * Dwight B. LaDu, (1876-1954), American engineer and surveyor in New York *

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

, American evangelist and publisher * W. Dwight Pierce (1881-1967), American entomologist *

Dwight York Dwight D. York (born June 26, 1945),Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal. ''The Ansar Cult in America,'' Tawheed Publications 1988, p. 1. Philips claims that in 1975 York's publications changed his declared birth year from 1935 to 1945, to coincide with ...

, American musician and imprisoned leader of the Nuwaubian movement ;Artists and entertainers *

Dwight Schultz William Dwight Schultz (born November 24, 1947) is an American television, film and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action series ''The A-Team'' and as Reginald Barclay in the ''Star Trek'' ...

, American stage, television and film actor *

Dwight Tosh Dwight Crandall Tosh (born November 12, 1948) is a retired trooper of the Arkansas State Police from Jonesboro, Arkansas, who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 52 in Craighead Poinsett, Jackson, and ...

, American state legislator *

Dwight Twilley Dwight Twilley (born June 6, 1951) is an American pop/rock singer and songwriter, best known for the Top 20 hit singles "I'm on Fire" (1975) and "Girls" (1984). His music is associated with the power pop style. Twilley and Phil Seymour performed ...

, American singer *

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

, American country musician *

, stand-up comedian ;Athletes * Dwight Anderson, American professional basketball player * Dwight Anderson, Jamaican-born professional Canadian football player *

Dwight Barnett Dwight Barnett (born 1 March 1982 in St. Andrew) is a Jamaican footballer who currently plays for the Tampa Marauders of the National Premier Soccer League. Career Youth and College Barnett played two years of college soccer at Herkimer Co ...

, Jamaican footballer *

Dwight F. Davis Dwight Filley Davis Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to ...

, American tennis player * Dwight Ferguson, Bahamian sprint athlete *

Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney (born February 19, 1980) is an American former football player who played as a defensive end and outside linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse University, whe ...

, American football player *

Dwight Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

, American baseball player *

Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard II (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Taoyuan Leopards of the T1 League. He is an NBA champion, eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team honoree, five-time All-Defensive Team ...

, American NBA professional basketball player *

Dwight McDonald Dwight Vinson McDonald (born May 24, 1951) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played for the San Diego Chargers from 1975 to 1978. He played college football at U.S. International University and San ...

, American football player *

Dwight Peabody Dwight Van Dorn Peabody (January 26, 1894 – January 3, 1972) was an American football end who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Columbus Panhandles and Toledo Maroons. He played college football at Ohio State Un ...

, American football player * Dwight Qawi, American boxer *

Dwight White Dwight Lynn White (July 30, 1949 – June 6, 2008) was an American football defensive end who played for ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL) and was a member of the famed Steel Curtain defense. Life an ...

, American football player *

Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke CM (born 3 November 1971) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian former professional footballer and current manager of Australian A-League club Macarthur FC. Throughout his club career, he played for Aston Villa, Manchester Uni ...

, Trinidad and Tobago footballer

Fictional characters

* Dwight, a character from ''The Walking Dead'' franchise *Dwight Enys, doctor in

Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...

’s

Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice ...

novels, who debuts in its second book. *Dwight Fairfield, fictional character from the video game ''

Dead by Daylight ''Dead by Daylight'' is an asymmetric multiplayer survival horror online game developed by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. It is a one-versus-four game in which one player takes on the role of a savage Killer and the other four play as Su ...

'' * Dwight McCarthy, fictional character in ''Sin City'' * Dwight "Dewey" Riley, a lead character in the ''Scream'' (film series) * Dwight Schrute, fictional character in the American TV show ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' *Dwight Hendrickson, in the TV series '' Haven'' *Dwight Walker, birth name of

Lucious Lyon Lucious Lyon (born Dwight Walker) is a fictional character from the Fox drama series ''Empire'', portrayed by Terrence Howard. Lucious is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the series. Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Lucious is the fo ...

, a fictional character from the television series ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

References

{{given name, Dwight Masculine given names English masculine given names