Damian is a tough name and I should know

Damien McCrystal12 April 2012

To tell the truth, this forename has always been a burden. When I was a child, growing up in America, no one had ever heard of it. This marked me out as different - a thing I hated.

When we came back to London, things were not much better. But secondary school was not far off and I knew that no one would use my forename again. I so enjoyed being known by my surname that I still encourage my friends to use it.

And that early embarrassment about Damien was before the dreaded Omen films. The first one wasn't too bad. The devil child's name was Damien, admittedly, which led to some mickey-taking, but the name had not entered the public consciousness yet.

I knew I was in for a rough ride after a strange experience in my teens. I was awoken by someone wailing "Damien" close by. A moment later, the wail again, but louder, more urgent. Then, a full blown, "Daaaaamiiieeennnn."

I nearly wet the bed. Then a deep voice said, "Damien, the Omen II, at Leicester Square from Sunday." I had left my radio on all night and been woken by this commercial.

After that it was all downhill. People made crosses with their forearms and hummed Carl Orff 's Carmina Burana.

To make matters worse, the boy who played Damien in the second Omen film lived near me and had been at the same primary school. We would bump into each other and anyone who knew my name and recognised him would burst out laughing.

Then the third film came out and I watched it. The whole thing hinged on the date of birth of the latest devil child. That was 23 March, my own birthday. I found myself searching my scalp in the mirror for the 666 mark of Satan. I couldn't find it.

Now, of course, the name seems more common, and in some ways more embarrassing because it is popular with footballers and MPs. But we soldier on. After all, it is an honourable name historically.

I was named after a priest who went to work on a leper colony and contracted the disease himself. He did not discover this until he poured boiling water on his foot and saw two toes drop off - all without feeling any pain. I often feel that those of us named after him have been bearing some of the pain he should have felt.

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