Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Demetrius

Demetrius is the Latin form of the Greek Δημητριος (Dēmētrios) meaning “follower of Demeter”. Demeter was one of the great ancient Greek divinities – she was the earth mother who presided over the grains and fertility and is often referred to as the goddess of the harvest. However, what really popularized the name Demetrius in medieval Europe was an early 4th century Greek saint named Demetrius often depicted alongside St. George as one of the patron saints of the Crusades. He was revered as a military martyr during a time of Christian persecution under the rule of Roman Emperor Diocletian. Saint Demetrius became particularly popular in the Eastern Orthodox Church and among the Slavs. The name Dmitri has had a long and successful career in Russia, for instance. Today, the name Demetrius is not particularly popular among Western Europeans or English-speaking nations.

All About the Baby Name – Demetrius

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME DEMETRIUS

Romance is the hallmark of the Six personality. They exude nurturing, loving, and caring energy. Sixes are in love with the idea of love in its idealized form - and with their magnetic personalities, they easily draw people toward them. Like the number Two personality, they seek balance and harmony in their life and the world at large. They are conscientious and service-oriented, and a champion for the underdog. These personalities naturally attract money and are usually surrounded by lovely material objects - but their human relationships are always primary. They thrive in giving back to others rather than being motivated by their own desires. This is when they achieve great things. Sixes are natural teachers, ministers and counselors.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME DEMETRIUS

The ancient name Demetrius made his first debut on the American male naming charts in 1954. This name doesn’t exactly have a long history in the United States and it’s never been heavily used. If anything, the African-American community has embraced the name Demetrius more so than other ethnic groups in America. And we think they’re onto something. Demetrius is a very unique name. It’s one of the fewer male names with four-syllables, and we think this one an under-used and long-neglected original. The name is handsome and laid-back-cool at the same time. It’s manly and masculine, but also poetic and literary. In fact, Demetrius is the name of a Shakespearean character from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. He’s one of the young lovers who receives a dose of Oberon’s fairy love potion and gets a taste of his own love medicine. It’s also the name of a character in Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” (but that Demetrius is a “bad guy”). We also like the fact that Demetrius is a Number Six in numerology – the lover number.

Quick Facts

ON DEMETRIUS

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

African-American

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

4

RANKING POPULARITY:

596

PRONUNCIATION:

da-MEE-tree-us

SIMPLE MEANING:

Follower of Demeter, the earth mother

Characteristics

OF DEMETRIUS

Humanitarian

Community-minded

Family-oriented

Loving

Affectionate

Compassionate

Sensitive

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Demetrius

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME DEMETRIUS

Demetrius is a character in one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. In one of the many interlocking plot lines, Demetrius, a young Athenian man, has been chosen by Egeus as a husband for his daughter, Hermia, but she refuses to marry him. Hermia is in love with Lysander and they plan to elope. They tell Hermia’s friend, Helena, of their plans, and she, in love with Demetrius (who jilted her upon meeting Hermia), tells him of their plan. Demetrius, followed by Helena, rushes after the fleeing Lysander and Hermia. Clear? The merry little fairy, Puck, is ordered by his king, Oberon, to apply a love potion to Demetrius in order to make him fall in love with Helena again. Puck, mistaking Lysander for Demetrius, applies a love potion to Lysander’s eyelids. Lysander, therefore, falls in love with Helena, forsaking Hermia, while Demetrius, under the same spell, also falls in love with Helena. And now Demetrius and Lysander are prepared to duel over Helena, while nobody loves poor Hermia. Clear? So Oberon leaves the spell on Demetrius, who stays in love with Helena, and removes it from Lysander, who falls back in love with Hermia, and everybody gets married to the right person. Here’s the thing, though: we think that Demetrius is a bit of a cad. He loves Helena, then he doesn’t. He jilts her for Hermia, and really doesn’t care what happens to her, verbally abusing her and leaving her alone in the forest. He is perfectly happy to have Hermia’s father dictate that Hermia marry him, no matter what her own feelings are. So if one is fated to fall in love with the type of man Demetrius is, it would be handy to have some of that love potion lying around. Clear!

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME DEMETRIUS

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Demetrius


Popular Songs

ON DEMETRIUS

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Demetrius


Famous People

NAMED DEMETRIUS

Demetrius Andrade (boxer)
Demetrius Bell (football player)
Demetrius Byrd (football player)
Demetrius Calip (basketball player)
Demetrius Williams (football player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED DEMETRIUS

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Demetrius

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME DEMETRIUS

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Demetrius