indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from given name)
Other Forms FormsDamián (Spanish, Czech, Slovak)
Meaning & History
From the medieval personal name Damian, Greek Damianos (from damazein "to subdue"). St. Damian was an early Christian saint martyred in Cilicia in ad 303 under the emperor Domitian, together with his brother Cosmas. In some accounts the brothers are said to have been doctors, and together they were regarded as the patrons of physicians and apothecaries. A later St. Damian lived in the 7th–8th centuries and was bishop of Pavia; he may have had some influence on the popularity of the personal name in Italy.