Damal
Of Arabic origin, symbolizing gentleness or a precious child.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Damal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Damal today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Damal births was 1989 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Damal. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Damal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1989
5 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1989 SSA rank
#8,136
Tracked since 1989
Popularity
Damal: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Damal by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Damal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Damal
The name Damal finds its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages from the region of Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. It dates back to around 3500 BCE. The name is derived from the Sumerian words "da," meaning "to create," and "mal," meaning "life" or "existence." Thus, the name Damal carries the meaning of "creator of life" or "one who brings forth existence."
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest surviving works of literature from ancient Mesopotamia, a character named Damal appears as a wise and respected elder in the city of Uruk. This reference dates back to around 2100 BCE, suggesting the name's usage in that region during the early Bronze Age.
The first recorded individual with the name Damal was a Sumerian scribe who lived in the city of Ur during the reign of the Akkadian king Shar-kali-sharri, around 2200 BCE. This scribe is credited with creating some of the earliest known written records on clay tablets, documenting aspects of daily life and administrative affairs.
In ancient Egyptian records from around 1500 BCE, a high-ranking official named Damal is mentioned as a royal overseer responsible for managing the construction of monuments and temples during the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III.
During the medieval period, a prominent scholar and philosopher named Damal ibn Yahya al-Muqaddasi lived in Jerusalem around 990 CE. He is known for his writings on geography, history, and Islamic jurisprudence, including his influential work "The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions."
In the 16th century, a Persian poet and mystic named Damal Qadiri gained recognition for his spiritual poems and contributions to the Sufi tradition. He was born in 1527 in the city of Qazvin and is remembered for his passionate verses celebrating divine love and unity.
People
Damal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Damal as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Damal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Damal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Damal going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Damal a common name?
We classify Damal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Damal most popular?
The single biggest year for Damal was 1989, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Damal is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Damal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Damal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Damal in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Damal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Damal in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Damal can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Damal?
You can see how many people have the name Damal on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.