Damaya
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "to tame" or "gentle".
Name Census estimates that about 535 living Americans carry the first name Damaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Damaya today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Damaya births was 2006 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Damaya. 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
535
~ 1 in 640,662 Americans
Peak year
2006
35 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,672
Tracked since 1998
Census
Damaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 386 people with the first name Damaya, which placed it at #24,794 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,794
National first-name rank
People counted
386
386 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Damaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Damaya is Black at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Damaya described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Damaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.9% · 324
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 34
- Two or more races4.4% · 17
- White2.3% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
Popularity
Damaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Damaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 230 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Damaya 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 Damaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Damayas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Damaya
The name Damaya is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "dam," which means "to tame" or "to control," and the word "maya," which means "illusion" or "deception." The combination of these words suggests that the name Damaya could be interpreted as "one who tames or controls illusion or deception."
In Hindu mythology, the concept of "maya" is closely associated with the idea of the physical world being an illusion, veiling the true nature of reality. The name Damaya may have been given to individuals who were believed to possess the wisdom and spiritual insight to see through this illusion and attain a higher state of consciousness.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Damaya can be found in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, although specific references are scarce. One notable mention is in the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture dating back to around the 3rd century BCE, where a character named Damaya is described as a wise sage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Damaya. One of the earliest recorded was Damaya, a renowned Indian scholar and philosopher who lived in the 7th century CE. He is credited with writing several influential treatises on Vedanta philosophy and is said to have had a profound impact on the intellectual and spiritual discourse of his time.
Another significant figure was Damaya, a prominent Buddhist monk and teacher who lived in the 9th century CE in the region of modern-day Nepal. He was renowned for his deep understanding of Buddhist teachings and his ability to guide seekers on the path to enlightenment.
In the 12th century CE, there was a renowned Sanskrit poet named Damaya who authored several celebrated works, including the epic poem "Damayacharita," which chronicled the life and exploits of a legendary warrior king.
During the 16th century, there was a renowned Indian musician and composer named Damaya, who is credited with contributing significantly to the development of Hindustani classical music.
Finally, in the 19th century, there was a prominent Indian social reformer and activist named Damaya, who fought tirelessly for the rights of women and the abolition of regressive social practices.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Damaya, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human culture and achievement.
People
Damaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Damaya 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
Damaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Damaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Damaya 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 640,662 US residents.
Is Damaya a common name?
We classify Damaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 541 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Damaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Damaya was 2006, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Damaya is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Damaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 386 people with the name Damaya, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,794 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Damaya in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Damaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Damaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 389 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Damaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Damaya is Black at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Damaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Damaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (324 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Damaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Damaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Damaya 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.
Is Damaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Damaya 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 Damaya 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.
How many people are named Damaya?
Want to know how many people have the name Damaya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.