Demon
Masculine
A daimon was not evil. In Greek it meant a spirit or a divine power, and it could be entirely benign — Socrates described a daimonion that warned him away from mistakes, and meant something like a conscience with authority. The word was demoted later, on purpose.
How old is the name Demon?
Demon first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Demon alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 800 people named Demon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Demon most popular?
Demon peaked in 1974, reaching #1471 nationally. Today it ranks #12008, 10,537 places below that high. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Demon
The demotion is one of the clearest cases of a translation changing a word. Greek daimon covered any divine or semi-divine power, and philosophical writers used it for something close to a guiding spirit or an allotted fate — eudaimonia, the word usually translated happiness, literally means having a good daimon. When Jewish and then Christian writers in Greek needed a word for the gods of other nations, they used this one, and the sense narrowed and darkened until nothing of the original was left. The name here is a different matter: it sits one letter from Damon, a Greek name with a well-known story attached, and one from Demont, a French surname.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
Almost certainly a respelling of Damon or Demont rather than the English word. The English word is Greek daimon, a spirit or divine power, which took its modern sense when the Greek Bible used it for the gods of other peoples. Nothing suggests families choosing this spelling intend the English noun.
Pronouncing Demon
DEE-mun
Two syllables, stress on the first, said as the English word. deh-MON, with the weight at the end, is used by families treating it as a French or Spanish form.
Nicknames for Demon
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1969
- Most boys named
- 197435 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1471reached in 1974
- Change vs 2024
- −16.7%5 in 2025, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Demons among us
people named Demon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 341,615 born in 2025 was named Demon
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Silverio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Demon's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Silverio climbed just as high around 1940, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Silverio's path sketches the road Demon is walking now.
Demon sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Demon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Demon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables that everyone can already say and spell.
- Damon is available as a near neighbor with a documented Greek history.
- The Greek word behind the English one is genuinely neutral, which is worth knowing.
- It is spelled identically to an English word with an unambiguous meaning, and that is what people will read.
- Damon and Deion are both close, much commoner, and carry none of the difficulty.
- The spelling will require explaining at almost every introduction.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Demon to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Demon? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Demon
Masculine · #12008 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Demons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Demon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Demon in 2025?
- Demon ranks #12008 among US boy names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Demon?
- About 1 in every 341,615 US boys born in 2025 was named Demon — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Demon with classmates?
- Demon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Demon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Garfield#12008 · Chas#12008 · Lew#12008 · Barney#12008 · Dewitt#12008 · Granville#12008 · Cicero#12008 · Willam#12008
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Demon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Demon and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle