boy's name
Damien
DAY-mee-en
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 206,903
the United States
#352
2025 births
Damien is a boy's name meaning to tame, and its saint was a Belgian priest who chose to live in a leper colony and died of the disease. The Omen gave the name a very different association in 1976.
- Damien is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1985, when 6,580 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 13,100 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Damien over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 265 |
| 1910s | 275 |
| 1920s | 360 |
| 1930s | 365 |
| 1940s | 410 |
| 1950s | 1,295 |
| 1960s | 4,920 |
| 1970s | 21,880 |
| 1980s | 52,740 |
| 1990s | 29,405 |
| 2000s | 11,705 |
| 2010s | 2,380 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 420 |
What Damien means
Damien means to tame, or to subdue. The Greek verb behind it covers taming an animal and overcoming a person, so the sense is mastery rather than gentleness.
Where Damien comes from
Damien is the French form of the Greek Damianos, from daman, to tame or subdue — related to the Latin domare and the English indomitable. Saints Cosmas and Damian were physicians who treated without charge and were martyred around 287. Father Damien de Veuster volunteered in 1873 for the leper settlement at Kalaupapa on Molokai, stayed sixteen years, contracted the disease and died there; he was canonised in 2009. The 1976 film The Omen gave the name its other association, and its French curve peaks in 1985, well after.
Damien in use
Damien peaked in France in 1985, when 6,580 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 352nd in the United States on 935 births, 477th in Ireland, 634th in Scotland, 745th in England and Wales on 46 and 867th in France on 45, across 206,903 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. The film association did not prevent its French peak arriving nine years after the film.
How popular is Damien?
In 2025, Damien was given to 45 babies in France, ranking #867 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Damien is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Damien
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Damien also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Damien over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Damien
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Damien in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Damien
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Damien — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Damien
What does the name Damien mean?
To tame or subdue, from the Greek daman — related to the English indomitable.
Who was Father Damien?
A Belgian priest who volunteered for the leper settlement on Molokai in 1873, stayed sixteen years and died of the disease.
Did The Omen hurt the name?
Not measurably in France — its peak arrived in 1985, nine years after the 1976 film.
How popular is Damien?
352nd in the United States, and it charts in five of the six markets we track.
Is Damien a girl's or a boy's name?
Damien is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Damien?
Damien has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Damien?
Damien is usually shortened to Dam.
Is Damien a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Damien currently ranks #269 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.