Damian

What Damian means

Means “to tame”

From the Ancient Greek name Δαμιανός (Damianós) which was derived from δαμάω (damáō, “to tame”) (see δαμάζω (damázō)).

Source: Wiktionary, “Damian” (revision 93879365), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Damian?

US: Steady: #116 in 2015, #109 now. England & Wales: Steady: #298 in 2015, #279 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2013, when 3,976 boys got the name (#98 that year). First in the US records in 1912.

How common

• About 1 in 532 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,689 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,806 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NV (4.78 per 1,000 boys), CA (4.36 per 1,000 boys), TX (3.69 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Damian is #109 in the US and #279 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Damian were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the UK pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Damien935 US · 46 E&W
• Demian54 US · 15 E&W
• Damion62 US · 3 E&W
• Damani62 US
• Dameon26 US
• Daymian14 US
• Daymien6 US
• Daemian5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Damian

Boys

• Sebastian#16“august, venerable, exalted”^*
• Pierce#505Form of Peter, meaning “stone, rock”^*
• Xander#259Diminutive of Alexander, meaning “to defend + man”^*
• Zander#396Diminutive of Alexander, meaning “to defend + man”^*
• Isaias#426Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #426 vs #3,256 in 2025
• Orion#334possibly “heaven's light”^*

For a sister

• Zoey#69Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1967, with 6 babies
• Genesis#66“creation, beginning, origin”^*
• Lydia#92“the region of Lydia”^*
• Elaina#267Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #267 vs #951 in 2025
• Sophia#5“wisdom”^*
• Sophie#55French form of Sophia, meaning “wisdom”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Damian’s. Rank is US 2025.