Damali
A feminine name meaning "beautiful, wonderful" in East African languages.
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Damali. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Damali today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Damali births was 1972 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Damali. 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.
People living today
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
1972
29 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,855
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Damali: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Damali from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 117 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Damali 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 Damali during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Damalis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Michigan recorded the most babies named Damali, while Michigan, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Damali
The name Damali is of African origin, specifically from the Kiswahili language spoken in East Africa. It is derived from the Arabic word "dhamal," which means "beauty" or "beautiful one." The name is believed to have originated in the region around the 7th century AD, during the spread of Islamic culture and the Arabic language along the East African coast.
Damali was a popular name among the Swahili people of present-day Kenya, Tanzania, and parts of Mozambique. It was often given to daughters as a way of expressing the parents' hope for their child to grow up to be a beautiful and graceful woman, both inside and out.
In ancient Swahili literature and poetry, the name Damali is frequently used as a metaphor for a beloved or a woman of great beauty and virtue. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the works of renowned Swahili poets and writers from the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the most famous historical figures with the name Damali was Damali Mbikiwa, a Tanzanian singer and songwriter who was born in 1949 and passed away in 2005. She was known for her powerful voice and her contributions to the traditional Taarab music genre.
Another notable Damali was Damali Ayo (1963-2017), a renowned American author and playwright who wrote extensively about the African diaspora experience. Her works explored themes of identity, spirituality, and the resilience of the human spirit.
In the 19th century, Damali Nabudere (1833-1896) was a prominent leader of the Baganda people in present-day Uganda. She played a significant role in preserving the cultural traditions and customs of her people during the colonial era.
Damali Mukhaye (1924-2002) was a Ugandan politician and women's rights activist who served as a member of parliament and advocated for gender equality and education for girls.
Damali Abrams (born 1973) is a modern-day American artist and illustrator known for her vibrant and empowering depictions of Black women and girls. Her work celebrates the beauty and strength of the African diaspora.
People
Damali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Damali 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
Damali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Damali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Damali 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 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Damali a common name?
We classify Damali as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 338 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Damali most popular?
The single biggest year for Damali was 1972, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Damali is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Damali a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Damali in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.