Desmona
A feminine variant of Desdemona, a name of Greek origin meaning "ill-fated".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Desmona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Desmona today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Desmona births was 1973 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Desmona. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Desmona. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1973
6 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1979 SSA rank
#9,284
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Desmona: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Desmona 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 Desmona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 27 | 27 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Desmona
The name Desmona is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language, with its roots traced back to the Classical period of Greek civilization, which spanned from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. The name is thought to be derived from the Greek word "desmos," which translates to "bond" or "chain," and is often associated with concepts of connection, unity, and enduring relationships.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Desmona can be found in the works of the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, who lived around 496-406 BC. In his tragic play "Antigone," one of the characters is named Desmona, though little is known about the significance of the name in the context of the play.
During the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Desmona gained popularity among Greek-speaking populations in regions such as Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and the Balkans. It was often bestowed upon daughters as a symbol of the enduring bond between family members and the hope for strong, lasting connections.
In the medieval period, the name Desmona made its way into various European languages, including Italian and Spanish, where it was adapted to forms such as "Desmonda" and "Desmonia." These variations were occasionally found in historical records and literary works from the time.
One notable figure who bore the name Desmona was a 12th-century Italian noblewoman named Desmona di Monferrato, who played a role in the political intrigues and conflicts of her time. Another notable bearer of the name was the Spanish poet and writer Desmona de Cervantes, who lived in the 16th century and was a contemporary of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of "Don Quixote."
In the realm of literature, the name Desmona gained prominence through its use in William Shakespeare's tragic play "Othello," where the character Desdemona, the wife of the titular character, is a central figure. Although the spelling differs slightly from the original Greek form, the name's associations with enduring love and tragic betrayal have become deeply embedded in the cultural consciousness.
Throughout the centuries, various other notable figures have carried the name Desmona, including Desmona Rousseau, a 17th-century French philosopher and writer; Desmona Nightingale, a 19th-century British nurse and social reformer; and Desmona Curie, a 20th-century Polish physicist and chemist.
People
Desmona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Desmona 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
Desmona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Desmona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Desmona 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Desmona a common name?
We classify Desmona as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Desmona most popular?
The single biggest year for Desmona was 1973, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Desmona is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Desmona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Desmona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Desmona 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 Desmona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Desmona 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 Desmona 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Desmona?
Find out how many people have the name Desmona on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.