Given name & surname
Damien
“one who tames or subdues others”
Damien is a variant of Damian. One Greek interpretation is “one who tames or subdues others.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Damien is a variant of Damian. One Greek interpretation is “one who tames or subdues others.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Damien is a variant of Damian. An origin associated with Damian is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1936. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Damien through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 65,018
- 64,757 boys · 261 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 2,265 babies
- 2025
- 935
- #352 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −18%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 935 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 352 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.4% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,265 in 2007. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (155). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 49,449 as a first name in 2020; 442 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Damien’s family of names
Damien shares a linguistic root with Damian. In English usage, Damien has a related form in Damion. Damien has a related form in Damian.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Damien has relatives in 9 languages.
8 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 11
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- DamianoItalian
- Demyanequivalent
- Damiequivalent
- Damjanequivalent
- Damijanequivalent
- Дамјанequivalent
- ДамианRussian
- ДемьянRussian
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People named Damien
- Damien ChazelleFrench-American filmmakerborn 1985
- Damien DuffIrish footballer and manager (born 1979)
- Big ShowAmerican professional wrestler and actorborn 1972
- Damien HirstEnglish sculptor and installation artistborn 1965
- Damien PerquisFrench and Polish association football playerborn 1984
- Damien RiceIrish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producerborn 1973
- Damien PlessisFrench footballer (born 1988)
- Damien DelaneyIrish association football playerborn 1981
- Damien Le TallecFrench association football player (born 1990)
Characters named Damien: Damien Karras (The Exorcist series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Damien, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“the son of David”
95% boys · 5% girls
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Julien
Julien is a form of Julian. One Greek interpretation is “the child of Jove; one who is vouthful Julien, Julira.uscant eni Jaun., ilano blyon,.”
98% boys · 2% girls
Dawson
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“resembling the green gemstone”
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Adan
“man” · “of the earth”
99% boys · 1% girls
Diego
“he who supplants”
>99% boys