Thanks to Natalie for suggesting today’s Name of the Day. It’s simple, yet distinctive. Literary, but easy to wear. If you’re looking for a name your a daughter, Esmé is worth considering.
First heard as a male name in Scotland in the sixteenth century, Esmé stems from the Old French word for esteemed or loved. While Esmé was never common, a handful of British notables wore the name into the early 20th century, including several holders of the title Duke of Lennox.
Fast forward to 1950, when JD Salinger’s short story For Esmé With Love and Squalor appeared in The New Yorker. His Esmé was an aristocratic young woman. The story instantly became – and remains among – the most popular of Salinger’s works.
But while the name is now familiar to many, it has never cracked the Top 1000 in the US. It’s not because the character was flawed – on the contrary, she’s a mysterious and appealing creature remembered by a soldier.
While the name often appears in English without the accent, it is still pronounced EZ may – a straightforward pronunciation that should be trouble-free.
The name has been heard in starbaby circles. Actor Anthony Edwards has an Esmé - and a Wallis and a Poppy! Actress Katey Sagal chose Esmé Louise for her daughter. And Michael J. Fox and Tracey Pollin have a daughter called Esmé Annabelle.
Esmé is related to Aimée – or at least they share the same origins. It also sometimes appears as Esmée. And some might use it as a short form of Esméralda. That exotic moniker, however, is actually the Spanish word for emerald, and appears in another classic literary work, Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His Esméralda is a beguiling gypsy girl born Agnes, but given her exotic moniker in reference to the imitation emerald she wears on her neck.
We’re not opposed to choosing the Spanish gemstone as a formal name, though it is a bit on the hyper-feminine side. But to our ears, it is Esmé that stands out as simple and spirited, sophisticated and yet perfectly suitable for a small child.
Many parents love two-syllable names for their daughters. Instead of Kylie or Zoe, Hailey or Lindsay, why not consider this seldom-heart but well-known literary charmer with a lovely meaning?
Esmé is certainly one to consider.
Esmé is a very sweet name indeed, and I actually have met several. It’s the kind of name that appeals to forward thinking creative parents, I believe. I have searched long and hard for reference to this name IN France, and it appears that it is not, nor has it ever been in any kind of common use there. I am dubious as to whether it is French at all. It may however be a contraction from the French word estimé meaning “esteemed” as you said.
-Elisabeth
http://www.youcantcallitit.com
It is tricky, because the derivation is not from the French we know and love, but from the Norman French that came to Scotland in the 12th century by way of England.
The Normans didn’t invade Scotland. Instead, King David I, ruler of Scotland from 1124 to 1153, introduced Norman-style administrative reforms, founded monasteries and made land grants to a number of French/Anglo-French knights. He himself was born in Scotland, but spent his formative years in England – which, of course, had been invaded back in 1066. The outcome is that David was a Norman by preference, style and habit, if not by birth.
So one can only assume that the French that gave us Esme had its peculiarities. It also stands to reason that it was fashionable, especially among the Southern Scots where the language held on longer.
Esme was never common in Scotland, either – even among families of Norman descent. Most of the common names were recognizable to our ears, even if they have quirky spellings – one study of 13/14th century names found 13 men called William, with ten variant spellings, including Villiame and Williame. Shades of modern baby naming!
So while the name’s early appearance as the given name of Esme Stewart, born in 1542 and eventually the Duke of Lennox, is clear in the historical record, the matter of the language that gave us his name is murky indeed.
Still, if one is eager for a meaning, it’s a defensible definition – if not an entirely satisfactory backstory.
Esme is so cute! It sounds very sophisticated and sweet, but appropriate for an adult. I like it best without the accent, because one of my friends was named Niké (ni-KAY, like Nicky accented differently). She had such a hard time with that accent on official paperwork!
That’s such a good point – the accent does not officially exist in American English, and you’re absolutely right that it can be a headache.
The only Esme that I know is not quite kindergarten aged, but her parents don’t use the accent at all. No one mangles her name. ni KAY would be a burden, indeed!
I love names with a simple, breezy yet distinctive style and Esme certainly fits that bill, it gets extra bonus points too for being relatively unusual and little used too. I’ve only ever met one of Kindergarten age. She was a creative and quietly spirited little girl who suited her name perfectly. However and this is the crux, I just can’t quite picture myself using the name Esme. In short, Esme is a name that I would love to love but for some reason or another it remains consigned to my ‘extended’ list…
Funny how we can love a name, but know that it’s not for us. As someone who grew up with a nickname-proof name (and a very common one, too) I’m not inclined to use something as simple as Esme – though I love it. Should my husband ever set up the aquarium he keeps threatening, I’ll probably use it for a fish.
I named my daughter Esme, pronounced Es-mee. It’s perfect for her, and we love the name!
My French husband and I — an American in Paris — named our daughter Esmé. It is not common here, nor in the US. But we though it was appropriate for our child since the name is an anglophone name (used commonly in the UK for example) with French roots.
We chose to include the accent since that appears to be the “classic” spelling of the name, and the easiest to pronounce. The other options each presented more complicated pronunciation problems:
Esme: without the accent in French, the word becomes unpronounceable. “Emmm? Ezzm?”
Esmée: the French would get it right, but Americans would call her Ez-mee.
Both sides of the family were unfamiliar with the name, but I think the Americans are having a harder time getting used to it. My brother still calls her Esma or Irma, depending on what day it is.
My baby girl is called Esmee. We actually pronounce it Es-mee simply because the first Esmee we came across also did that and there fore it feels most “right”. We dont use the accent simply to save her a life time of trying to get it jotted down everywhere.I agree with ParisTexas :americans don’t get it at all, at least not to start with, while in England the reaction was more of “what a lovely and traditional name !” I simply love the name because it sounds sweet and it suits whatever age you are. A little funny detail is that our other daughter is called Autumn, a name that americans get but is still slightly different” for english people..(totally opposite from Esmee!)It does seem to be more common now though and I guess it will get a little “boost now when theres an Autumn in the royal family…
Honestly i keep saying the name over and over in my head….Es-may, Ez-mee, Es-mee…and i still don’t get the sudden facination over it. i just DO NOT like the way it sounds. No offense of course. It’s just one of those names that might be a bit too…progressive for a southern belle like myself.
I am an Esme without the accent and people always pronounce my name wrong, well… wrong as far as i am concerned.
You see, my mum chose my name and she has always pronounced it Ezmee
so when i come across someone who pronounces it Ezmay i become a little confused, especially when they are adament that i am pronouncing it wrong
I love my name! Deffinately prefere it pronounced Ezmee though!
I named my daughter Esme without the accent and we pronounce it EZ-mee – she was named after a British great-aunt and that is how her name was pronounced. I think it is a lovely name, but now with the popularity of the Twilight series people insist on pronouncing my daughter’s name Es-may.
I really, really like the name Esmé. Although I definitely prefer it as a nickname for Esmeralda, Esmé is a lovely name in and of itself. But I completely hate the name with mé said as mee… It’s just incorrect to me! Total butcher. But, que sera sera. For now, Esmeralda (Esmé) will be on my Wildcard list with Priscilla, Lucia, Vera, Anastasia (Anya), Georgiana, and Tallulah.
I am Esmeralda and I got several nicknames like Esme, Erald and Em =)
Our daughter is Esme (no accent and pronounced Es-mee). That’s the way it’s been pronounced in the north of England and Scotland for many a moon. She’s swift to correct anyone who poncifies it to the Esmay pronunciation.
Poncify – that is a fabulous word!
My wife is six months and we have disagreed about every girls name suggested by either of us. However, we have agreed on Esme (One E with the accent) and will be pronouncing it Es-may. Its such a nice simple name yet not that common which is what we were both after…….In the meantime, we have to hope that the baby is a girl!!!
Congratulations on your baby-on-the-way. Esme is a great name!
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I really like Esmé. Honestly, the only downside seems to be the Twilight association and considering her character I don’t think that is too much. If I used Esmé I would include the accent because I definitely prefer Ez-may to Ez-mee. I’d only use at as a middle name, though, probably in the pair Veronica Esmé. Sigh, I really can’t wait until I have kids.
I adore Veronica Esme – great combo!
My name is Esmeralda and the truth is that since I was a child I’ve always sort of hated my name. The thing is that it is so long and although I think that it sounds nice and the meaning is also nice, it is a very uncommon name in Spain (I’m Spanish, by the way). Over the years, I’ve got used to it. My friends and family called me Esme so that it’s shorter. It’s funny because since I’ve moved to England everybody seems to love my name, they say that is very beatiful and exotic and I haven’t found a single person who has trouble pronouncing Esme or Esmeralda. It is so nice to see that there are so many people that love my name because in Spain, what you mostly get is: “well, it’s a nice name, but it’s just too long and weird”.
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My daughter is named Esme (with accent…pronounced Es-may). I don’t understand how people can pronounce it wrong! With accent…pronounced Es-may/Ez-may and without accent…pronounced Es-mee/Ez-mee. I always thought the accent was there to change the pronounciation from Es-mee/Ez-mee to Es-may/Ez-may! Though I have read today that Esme (with accent) is indeed the male version and the female version is spelt the same way but with an extra E. Is my daughters name spelt right? Should it be Esmee or Esme? With/without accent? xx
Katy, are you in the US? American English typically doesn’t acknowledge diacritical marks. As I understand it, some states do accommodate them, but most of the time, Esme is just Esme – no accents available. (This must craze parents who are choosing a name from their native, other-than-English language, only to have their child’s name appear to be misspelled on official paperwork. I know one parent who is constantly inserting accents over her son’s name.) Tildes, umlauts, and cedillas tend to be retained, but acute and grave accents, like in Esme or cafe, tend to be dropped. I drop them here myself, because I have to pull up an extra menu to insert them – not a world-ending step, but I type REALLY fast. And the menu? Isn’t fast.
Then there’s the diacritical-marks-as-confetti phenomenon – Raven-Symone has a few in her name that have no impact on pronunciation. Or think heavy metal umaluts … they’re added for visual style, not as pronunciation guides. Add in that many of us aren’t familiar with the impact of diacritical marks, and I feel reasonably comfortable not using them. (I suspect I’m pretty average – I know what the French/Spanish/German ones indicate, but anything less common, I’m guessing. Like the å in Swedish – I know it sounds like the o in yonder because I’ve looked it up more than once, but I have to pause every time.)
As for the male/female distinction, that’s debatable, but Esme is really only known as a feminine name in 21st century English, so I wouldn’t sweat it if you can discover a 17th century Scottish male Esme. And Esme looks elegant, and reminds me of Chloe/Zoe, where we understand that the name isn’t just one-syllable, so it works. Esmee feels excessive.
But back to pronunciation – sure, you’re saying it right. But you’ll still have to repeat it, possibly more than once!
ééé Hold down the ALT key and type 130. Fast and easy! No menu required!!!
My wife and I are going with Esmae for our little girl. We like the pronunciation “ES-May” and felt this took away any uncertainty. Thoughts?
I don’t mind Esmae, and I think it does sidestep the problem of pronunciation rather neatly. The question is whether Esme will eventually be so popular that your daughter doesn’t appreciate having a different spelling of her name. BUT should that come to pass, chances are we’ll see Ezmi and Esmie and Esmee, so she’ll have to spell it anyway. The more I think about it, the more I like it!
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