I was a toddler when The Omen came out and changed my life forever. I wouldn’t actually see the film for another decade.

According to The Baby Name Wizard, a whole bunch of people chose to name their kids Damion/Damien/Damian in the 1970s. Interestingly, Damian-with-an-a was more popular than the movie-sanctioned and obviously more evil looking Damien-with-an-e. My parent’s choice, Damion-with-an-o, has always come in last place.

I believe they got it from a folk song (my parents were hippies), and are also quick to point out that there’s a Roman Catholic Saint named Damien. They look kind of embarrassed when I harass them about The Omen.

More interestingly, the popularity of Damion/Damien/Damian have all been steadily growing throughout the 1990s and into 2004. The infinitely more boring Damon (the only derivative with data on the chart before 1940) appears to be losing out to the versions with the additional long e sound stuck in there.

As a side note, whoever is naming their kids ‘Damarion’ needs to stop.

In my life, I’ve gone to school with a Damien and a Damian. I’ve also known Damons at the high school, college and workplace level, and in fact I work with one now. I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered a Damion-with-an-o in person. Having a unique name has its interesting problems. For example, everyone remembers my name, but my memory for names is abysmal. This makes me look like an ass the second time I run into people. As if I needed the help.

I’ve never really encountered anyone who has said, “Oh, I meant the OTHER Damion.”

Anyway, happy satan day. One is definitely left to wonder what the most apocalyptic thing to happen today will be. So far, I suspect it’s the reviews for the new Omen film.