This study proposes two new approaches for identifying damage patterns in a holed CFRP cross-ply laminate using an embedded fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. It was experimentally confirmed that the reflection spectrum from the embedded FBG sensor was significantly deformed as the damage near the hole (i.e. splits, transverse cracks and delamination) extended. The damage patterns were predicted using forward analysis (a damage analysis and an optical analysis) with strain estimation and the proposed damage-identification method as well as the forward analysis only. Forward analysis with strain estimation provided the most accurate damage-pattern estimation and the highest computational efficiency. Furthermore, the proposed damage identification significantly reduced computation time with the equivalent accuracy compared to the conventional identification procedure, by using damage analysis as the initial estimation.