Desmon
A variant spelling of "Desmond", meaning "from the South Munster region of Ireland".
Name Census estimates that about 1,249 living Americans carry the first name Desmon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Desmon today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Desmon births was 1992 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Desmon. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 274,423 Americans
Peak year
1992
51 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,480
Tracked since 1969
Census
Desmon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 968 people with the first name Desmon, which placed it at #12,739 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
#12,739
National first-name rank
People counted
968
968 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desmon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desmon is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Desmon 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 Desmon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.0% · 707
- White9.4% · 91
- Two or more races7.7% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 8
Popularity
Desmon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Desmon from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 395 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
Desmon 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 Desmon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Desmons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Desmon, while Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Desmon
The given name Desmon has its origins in Greek culture and language, tracing back to the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "desmos," meaning "bond" or "chain," symbolizing a strong connection or tie. This name was popular among the ancient Greeks, particularly in the regions of Attica and the Peloponnese.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Desmon can be found in Plato's dialogue "Cratylus," where a character with this name is mentioned. In this philosophical work, Plato explores the origins and meanings of words and names, suggesting that Desmon might be associated with the concept of binding or linking.
During the Byzantine era, the name Desmon gained religious significance as it was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs. Saint Desmon of Smyrna, who lived in the 2nd century AD, is remembered for his unwavering faith and martyrdom during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius.
In the Middle Ages, the name Desmon appeared in various historical records and chronicles, particularly in regions influenced by Greek culture and the Eastern Orthodox Church. One notable figure was Desmon of Thessaloniki, a renowned scholar and theologian who lived in the 14th century and made significant contributions to Byzantine literature and philosophy.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Desmon, including:
1. Desmon of Nicomedia (3rd century AD) - An early Christian martyr who was executed during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.
2. Desmon the Philosopher (6th century AD) - A Byzantine scholar and commentator on Aristotle's works, renowned for his contributions to the study of logic and metaphysics.
3. Desmon the Painter (12th century AD) - A renowned Byzantine artist known for his frescoes and icons adorning numerous churches and monasteries in Greece and Macedonia.
4. Desmon Lypourdi (1935-2021) - A prominent Greek actor and director who played a significant role in the development of modern Greek theater.
5. Desmon Dekker (1941-2008) - A Jamaican singer-songwriter and pioneer of ska and rocksteady music, best known for his hit songs "Israelites" and "007 (Shanty Town)."
The name Desmon has endured through the centuries, carrying with it a rich tapestry of cultural and historical significance, reflecting its Greek roots and the enduring influence of the Hellenic world across various disciplines, from philosophy and religion to art and literature.
People
Desmon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Desmon 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
Desmon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Desmon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Desmon 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 274,423 US residents.
Is Desmon a common name?
We classify Desmon as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,285 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Desmon most popular?
The single biggest year for Desmon was 1992, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Desmon 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 Desmon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 968 people with the name Desmon, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,739 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 Desmon 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 Desmon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Desmon leans strongly male. 949 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 18 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Desmon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Desmon is Black at 73.0%. The next largest groups are White (9.4%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Desmon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Desmon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (707 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 Desmon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Desmon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Desmon 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 Desmon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Desmon 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 Desmon 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 Americans are named Desmon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.