Find out how popular the last name Damien is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Damien.

Damien, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Damien surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Damien in America

Damien is the 54637th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Damien surname appeared 377 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Damien.

We can also compare 2010 data for Damien to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Damien

The surname DAMIEN is believed to have originated in France during the medieval period. It is likely derived from the French personal name Damien, which in turn comes from the Greek name Damianos, meaning "to tame" or "to subdue". The name Damien was initially introduced to France by early Christian missionaries and saints.

One of the earliest known records of the DAMIEN surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Normandy, France. Several documents from this era mention individuals with the surname DAMIEN or variations like DAMYAN and DAMIANS. It is possible that some of these early bearers of the name were connected to the nearby town of Damigny.

In the late 15th century, a French knight named Jacques DAMIEN fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1410 in the village of Vaucouleurs and played a key role in helping Joan gain an audience with the future King Charles VII.

The DAMIEN surname also appears in several medieval French manuscripts and records, including the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. However, the spelling and variations of the name varied considerably during this era.

One of the earliest known individuals with the DAMIEN surname was Pierre DAMIEN, a renowned French scholar and reformer who lived from 1007 to 1072. He is remembered for his efforts to reform the Catholic Church and his writings on moral theology and monastic life.

In the 16th century, the DAMIEN surname gained prominence in France with individuals like Étienne DAMIEN (1528-1589), a French jurist and magistrate who served as a judge in the Parlement of Paris. Another notable figure was Michel DAMIEN (1570-1644), a French poet and dramatist who was part of the literary circle of King Henry IV.

As the surname spread throughout Europe, it also appeared in other countries, such as England and Germany. In England, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was William DAMIEN, who was born in 1623 in the village of Weston-super-Mare.

Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the DAMIEN surname, including the Belgian priest Father Damien (1840-1889), who dedicated his life to serving lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, and Émile DAMIEN (1849-1916), a French engineer and inventor who developed early versions of the motorcycle and motorized bicycle.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Damien

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Damien.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Damien was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Damien has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Damien was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Damien, please contact us.

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