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The first name 
Damian

Damian is a male first name. In very rare cases it is also used for girls.

Damian – known and loved in the US!

The name Damian isn’t among the current fashionable names in our top 10 stats, but nonetheless, it’s still very popular and common. In our SmartGenius ranking of all boys names, Damian ranks 108. Recently, out of every 10,000 newborn boys, approximately 20 were named Damian. In the entire USA, approximately 97,216 people – children, adults and seniors – currently bear the name Damian. That is 0.03 % of all living Americans.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Damian

What does the name 
Damian mean?

Damian is a name of Greek origin, and it means ‘tamer’ or ‘taming.’ The name has its origin in the Greek name Damianos, which is derived from ‘damao’ meaning ‘to tame’. Damian is associated with the idea of healing, compassion and service.

In the Christian tradition,... Saint Damian was a physician who was martyred with his twin brother Cosmas. They are venerated as the patron saints of physicians and surgeons.

Very special people are named Damian

A diverse actor

Damian Lewis (*1971)
Damian Lewis is a British actor known for his diverse roles on stage, television, and film. Lewis began his career on stage, appearing in a variety of theatrical productions, including Shakespearean plays and contemporary dramas. His television breakthrough came in the role of soldier Richard Winters in the award-winning HBO miniseries 'Band of Brothers' (2001). He went on to star in many other hit television series, including 'Life' (2007-2009), 'Homeland' (2011-2018) and 'Billions' (2016-2021). Lewis has also starred in numerous films, including 'Dreamcatcher' (2003) and 'Queen of the Desert' (2015).

A basketball player

Damian Lillard (*1990)
Damian Lillard is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for Weber State University and was drafted sixth overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft. He has since played for the Blazers and has established himself as one of the best and most consistent players in the league. A point guard, Lillard is known for his ability to score from long range and set his teammates up. He has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career, including six All-Star nominations, All-NBA honors, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in his freshman season.

Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper

Damian Marley (*1978)
The son of Bob Marley, Damian Marley is a great musician in his own right. Damian's career as a reggae artist began in the late 1990s when he released his debut album 'Mr. Marley' in 1996. His music is known for its blend of reggae, hip-hop and dancehall elements and for its strong political and social messages. Marley has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including multiple Grammy Awards for his albums 'Halfway Tree' (2001) and 'Welcome to Jamrock' (2005). He is also known for his collaborations with other artists such as Nas, Skrillex and Bruno Mars.

A controversial artist

Damien Hirst (*1965)
Hirst is best known for his work as part of the Young British Artists (YBAs), a group of emerging British artists who rose to prominence in the 1990s. Often inspired by medical themes, death and impermanence, his artwork uses materials such as animal carcasses, skulls, flies and formaldehyde. His best-known works include 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' (1991), a stuffed shark installation, and 'For the Love of God' (2007), a diamond-encrusted skull. Hirst has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Turner Prize in 1995.

Damian -
a name for the future?

This is a real surprise! Damian is a name that has been around for a long time, but only really took off in the 21st century. In the year 2013, it reached its best rank at #98 according to our SmartGenius statistics. This makes Damian much more popular than in previous generations, where it was so rare for several years that it was not even recorded in the statistics. While the name Damian was observed for the first time ever in 1912, it now seems to have found its place in the zeitgeist of the 21st century. In 2013, the year of its highest popularity, the name was given a total of 3,982 times. Whether this beautiful boys' name can repeat or even exceed its previous best ranking in the coming years remains to be seen, but the prospects are promising given the positive trend.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Damian was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

Damian - cementing the new path

In 2022, Damian ranked #109 in our SmartGenius statistics. In absolute figures, this means it was given to baby boys a total of 3,445 times. No one knows what names (or combinations of numbers and letters) will be popular 50 years from now, but given its popularity in the early years of this millennium, there is a good chance that Damian will not disappear from the screen anytime soon.

Damian -
at home in every state from California to New York

The name Damian may not be in the top rankings of the most popular boys’ names, but it is one of the few male given names, along with only 385 others, that can be found in every single state in the U.S. from Alaska to Florida and from California to New York. Of course, the name occurs more frequently in some states than in others – and Damian is apparently especially popular in Nevada. Although the name is not one of the top 100 most popular men’s names here either, one in 448 men in Nevada is called Damian. In total, that’s 1,264 people who feel addressed when the name Damian is shouted loudly across Nevada and who ensure that their name makes it to #109 in our SmartGenius ranking of the most common male names in this nice state. If you asked all people in the entire U.S. for their first name, you would hear Damian as the answer a total of 97,216 times. This places Damian at #289 in our SmartGenius statistics for the most popular male names in the whole of the USA. This is true for all currently living people across all states and age groups – the recent popularity of the name Damian as a baby name is, of course, a bit different, as you can see from the statistics above.

Damian has 6 letters 
and begins with a D

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter D is a quite popular first letter for boys’ names. That’s because 8.5% of all common boys’ names in the US begin with this letter. Only the first letters J and A are more common for boys' names.

With six letters, the name Damian is of average length. In fact, 28% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly six letters. 24% of all first names are shorter, while 48% have seven letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

Therefore: As 8.5% of all boys' names start with a D, this initial letter occurs nearly 2.5-times as often as all 26 letters on average – and the most common one of all the boys’ names starting with D is David.

Other names with 
D, a, m, i, a and n

If you take all the letters in the name Damian – D, a, m, i, a and n – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Damani or others.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Damian

If your name is Damian and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Damian

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Damian, you can simply say:

Dinosaur

Apple

Mouse

Igloo

Apple

Nut

This is how the name Damian is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Damian in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Damian

Damian

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Damian

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Damian is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

D
A
M
I
A
N

Have you ever waved the name Damian

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

D
A
M
I
A
N

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Damian sounds like this: