Damascus is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. In the early part of the 20th century, there was an incorporated municipality there for about a quarter century, but it no longer exists. The name "Damascus" comes from a reference in the Bible, presumably to Damascus, Syria, and was first used in an official document in 1816, when the United States Congress approved a postal route through the area, operated by Edward Hughes.