Damianus

Damianus is a masculine given name of Latin origin. It is the Latin form of the Greek name Damianos, derived from a root meaning to tame or subdue, and it has been used since late antiquity in Christian and scholarly contexts. The name appears in Latin ecclesiastical and hagiographic literature, often associated with saints and clergy.

The best-known bearer is part of the pair of physician-martyr saints Saint Cosmas and Saint Damianus (Cosmas et Damianus). In Christian tradition they are remembered as physicians who provided medical care without charge and were martyred during persecutions in the late Roman Empire. Their cult spread across Europe, and they are revered as patrons of medicine and surgeons. Their feast day is celebrated on September 26 in the Roman Catholic Church; Orthodox churches commemorate them on different dates, sometimes October 1.

In medieval and early modern Europe, Damianus appeared as a common given name among monks, bishops, and nobles. Today it survives primarily in modern vernacular forms: Damien (French, English), Damian or Damiano (Italian, some Spanish varieties), Damián (Spanish), Damjan (South Slavic languages). The feminine form is Damiana.

See also: Damasus (a related Latin form), Cosmas and Damianus.