Damien

Did you know?

A few things about Damien you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Damien

Damien Chazelle

French-American filmmaker

Choose Damien and your child shares a first name with Damien Chazelle, a French-American filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Damien, like who?” Damien Chazelle's Wikipedia article is available in 53 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Damien Chazelle on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: isabelle VERONESE from ELBEUF, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 1,827 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Damien, 935 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Damien would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryDamien first shows up in US birth records in 1936, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 89 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1978, when it reached #161.
• 🍂TrendDamien has slipped 75 places over the last five years and now sits at #352. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedDamien is most popular in Alaska, where it ranks #143, followed by Hawaii (#146) and Oregon (#230). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningDamien is a French form of Damian, which means “to tame”. Our records link it to English, French and Greek roots.

About the name Damien

Damien is a boy name of English, French and Greek origin meaning “to tame”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with D and ending in “-ien”. US birth records list Damien for boys from 1936 to 2025, in 87 of those 90 years. Its best year was 1978, when it ranked #161 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #352, with 935 babies.

Origin:English namesFrench namesGreek names