Recorded 1936–2025 · United States
Damien was most popular in 2007, when 2,265 American babies were given the name — ranking #343 that year. In 2025 it ranked #694, with 935 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 65,018 people named Damien.
Damien first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1936, which makes it about 89 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 87 of the 90 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 65,018 American births named Damien between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 63,035 are estimated to be alive today.
935 American babies were named Damien in 2025, ranking #694 that year.
Damien is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,058 births a year, against 1,612 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -34% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Damien is a boy’s name — 0.4% of the 65,018 Americans given it were girls and 99.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 63,035 Americans named Damien are alive today — 97% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 21 years old, and half are between 13 and 35.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Damien on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org