Everyday LifeGreek → English
Damian
/ˈdeɪmiən/noun
A male given name of Greek origin.
The Greek roots
δαμάζω
damázō
to tame, subdue
Literally: “one who tames”
Follow a root:δαμάζω2 words
The story of the word
Damianos is usually taken from damazō, to tame or break in, the verb used of horses and of men; some link it instead to Damia, a fertility goddess worshipped in the Peloponnese. The name spread through the cult of Saints Cosmas and Damian, twin physicians martyred around 287, who treated patients without charge and are called the Anargyroi, the silverless ones. The horror-film association is entirely twentieth-century.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
DamonadamantDamiana
In a sentence
Damian was named after his grandfather, a village doctor.