Demon
A powerful, malignant supernatural being in many religions and mythologies.
Name Census estimates that about 809 living Americans carry the first name Demon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Demon today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Demon births was 1974 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Demon. 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
809
~ 1 in 423,677 Americans
Peak year
1974
35 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,221
Tracked since 1969
Census
Demon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 535 people with the first name Demon, which placed it at #19,659 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
#19,659
National first-name rank
People counted
535
535 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Demon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demon is Black at 86.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Demon 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 Demon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.7% · 464
- White4.7% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 23
- Two or more races2.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Demon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Demon from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 246 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Demon 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 Demon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Demons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Louisiana, Texas recorded the most babies named Demon, while Illinois, Georgia, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Demon
The name Demon has its origins in the Greek language and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "daimon," which originally meant a divine power or spirit, neither good nor evil. In ancient Greek mythology, daimons were supernatural beings that were somewhere between gods and humans, acting as intermediaries or messengers.
In later periods, the meaning of the word "daimon" evolved to take on a more sinister connotation, becoming associated with evil spirits or demons. This shift in meaning was likely influenced by the spread of Christianity and its demonization of pagan beliefs and deities. The name Demon, as a derivative of "daimon," came to be associated with the concept of evil or demonic forces.
Historical references to the name Demon can be found in various ancient Greek texts and writings, including the works of philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, who discussed the concept of daimons in their teachings. The name also appears in some early Christian texts, where it is often used in reference to malevolent spirits or fallen angels.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Demon was Demon of Athens, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC. He was a follower of Socrates and is known for his writings on ethics and virtue.
Another notable figure with the name Demon was Demon of Cyrene, a Greek mathematician and philosopher from the 4th century BC. He is credited with several important contributions to the field of mathematics, including the development of concepts related to conic sections.
In the Middle Ages, the name Demon was occasionally used by individuals, although it was relatively uncommon due to its association with evil or demonic forces. One example is Demon of Nevers, a French nobleman and crusader who lived in the 12th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Demon gained some popularity among artists and intellectuals who were interested in exploring classical Greek and Roman themes. One notable figure from this time was Demon Brunelleschi, an Italian sculptor and architect who lived in the 15th century and is known for his contributions to the development of Renaissance architecture.
In more recent history, the name Demon has been used by a few individuals, although it remains relatively rare. One example is Demon Hudson, an American writer and poet who lived in the 20th century and was known for his works exploring themes of spirituality and the human experience.
People
Demon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Demon 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
Demon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Demon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 809 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Demon 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 423,677 US residents.
Is Demon a common name?
We classify Demon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 845 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Demon most popular?
The single biggest year for Demon was 1974, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Demon is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Demon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 535 people with the name Demon, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,659 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 Demon 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 Demon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demon leans strongly male. 524 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 8 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Demon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demon is Black at 86.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Demon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Demon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.7% (464 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 Demon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Demon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Demon 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 Demon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Demon 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 Demon 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 share the name Demon?
Want to know how many people share the name Demon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.