Damion
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "to tame" or "to subdue".
Name Census estimates that about 16,335 living Americans carry the first name Damion. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Damion today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Damion births was 2002 (579 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Damion. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Damion with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 20,983 Americans
Peak year
2002
579 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,040
Tracked since 1957
Census
Damion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,671 people with the first name Damion, which placed it at #2,006 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
#2,006
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,671 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Damion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Damion is Black at 42.2%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Hispanic (13.9%). 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 Damion 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 Damion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.2% · 5,771
- White35.8% · 4,888
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 1,897
- Two or more races6.3% · 859
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 164
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 92
Gender
Gender distribution for Damion
Out of the 16,864 babies given the name Damion since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Damion as a male name
- Ranked #2,040 in 2024
- 74 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (579 births)
Damion as a female name
- Ranked #10,743 in 1980
- 5 female births in 1980
- Peak: 1977 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Damion appears almost entirely male. Of the 13,674 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Damion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Damion from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5,040 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Damion 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 Damion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Damions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 45 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Damion, while Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 314 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Damion
The name Damion has its origins in ancient Greek culture, deriving from the root word "damas" which means "to tame" or "to subdue." This connection suggests the name may have initially been associated with strength, power, or dominance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Damion can be found in Greek mythology, where it was borne by a hero known for his bravery and valor in battle. This mythological figure, though minor, likely contributed to the early popularity of the name among ancient Greeks.
During the Byzantine era, the name Damion gained religious significance as it was adopted by several early Christian saints and martyrs. One notable figure was Saint Damion of Tarsus, a 4th-century priest and theologian known for his writings on the nature of the Trinity.
In the Middle Ages, the name Damion experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Western Europe. This was likely due to the influence of French and Norman noble families who favored the name for their sons. One prominent bearer was Damion de Gournay, a 12th-century Norman knight who fought alongside Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade.
The Renaissance period saw the emergence of several notable individuals named Damion, including Damion de Veuster, a 19th-century Belgian priest who dedicated his life to serving those afflicted with leprosy in Hawaii. He was later canonized as Saint Damien of Molokai.
Another historical figure was Damion Hirst, an English artist and entrepreneur born in 1965. He is best known for his controversial artwork, including pieces featuring preserved animals and diamond-encrusted skulls, which sparked debates about the boundaries of art and commercialism.
Damion Searls, born in 1975, is an American writer and translator whose works have explored themes of identity, language, and cultural exchange. His translations from German, Norwegian, French, and Dutch have earned him critical acclaim and numerous awards.
Damion Poitier, born in 1982, is a Bahamian sprinter who has represented his country in multiple Olympic Games. He is a former world champion in the 4x400 meter relay and has won multiple medals at major international competitions.
These are just a few examples of the diverse individuals who have borne the name Damion throughout history, each leaving their mark in fields ranging from religion and art to literature and athletics.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Damion
People
Damion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Damion 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
Damion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Damion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,335 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Damion 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 20,983 US residents.
Is Damion a common name?
We classify Damion as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,864 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Damion most popular?
The single biggest year for Damion was 2002, when 579 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Damion is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Damion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,671 people with the name Damion, or 4.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,006 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 Damion 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 Damion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Damion appears almost entirely male. Of the 13,674 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Damion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Damion is Black at 42.2%. The next largest groups are White (35.8%) and Hispanic (13.9%). 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 Damion most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Damion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.2% (5,771 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 Damion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Damion a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Damion 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 Damion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Damion 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 Damion 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 called Damion?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.