Esme
2025 SSA
Below 5 births
About Esme
Esmé comes from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, meaing "to esteem" or "to love." It can also be considered a derivative of the Spanish name Esmeralda, which means "emerald".
Esme for girls#298 US
Esmé began life as a masculine name, as in its original bearer, Esmé Stewart,1st Duke of Lennox, and Esmée, with the same pronunciation, was the feminine form. Today both spellings are used as feminine given names, along with Anglicizations including Esmay and Esmae.
Esmé is a sweet, sophisticated and charming literary name, from J. D. Salinger's classic 1950 story For Esmé, With Love and Squalor. Esme is also one of the most stylish baby names that mean love.
A current favorite among celebs, including Samantha Morton, Michael J. Fox and Katey Sagal, Esme got a lot of publicity via the character Esme Cullen, the vampire matriarch of the Olympic Coven in the Twilight Saga. Esme has long been more popular across the pond in the UK, where it currently makes the Top 50 baby girl names.
The final accent indicates the pronunciation of ez-may, though in English you can just spell it Esme. Whatever the spelling, Esme is one of the fastest-rising girl names starting with E.
Esme for boys
Originally a male name in this single-E spelling, Esme or Esmé was borne by the first Duke of Lennox in Scotland in the 16th century, as well as by several of his male descendants. It became predominantly female by the 20th century.
Pronounced EZ-may.
As of October 2026, Esme ranked #298 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #22.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #812 | 342 | 191.5 |
| 2015 | #680 | 419 | 234.7 |
| 2016 | #682 | 431 | 243.2 |
| 2017 | #585 | 513 | 297.1 |
| 2018 | #548 | 565 | 332.1 |
| 2019 | #426 | 744 | 443.3 |
| 2020 | #396 | 787 | 486.8 |
| 2021 | #377 | 826 | 503.4 |
| 2022 | #303 | 1,052 | 641.4 |
| 2023 | #325 | 950 | 592.1 |
| 2024 | #344 | 901 | 556.1 |
| 2025 | #298 | 1,032 | 642.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Esme.
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Esme on lists
Famous Esmes
- Esme Rosemary IrwinGirl
English cricketer
- Esme LangleyGirl
English writer
- Esme MackinnonGirl
Scottish Olympic skier
- Esme Grace MelvilleGirl
Australian actress
- Esme Irene TomblesonGirl
New Zealand politician
- Esme BiancoGirl
English actress, model and performer
- Esme PattersonGirl
lead singer of American band Paper Bird
- Esme Jane GardnerGirl
American Gardner quadruplet
- Esme ScarboroughGirl
daughter of actor Adrian Scarborough
- Esme Perrygrove (1991)Girl
daughter of Ian Dickson
- Esme Edwards (1997)Girl
daughter of actor Anthony Edwards
- Esme CreedGirl
Miles (2000), daughter of Samantha Morton
- Esme Annabelle Fox (2001)Girl
daughter of Michael J. Fox
- Esme Norton (2004)Girl
daughter of Shelley Miranda Barrett and Richard Norton
- Esme Louise Sutter (2007)Girl
daughter of Kurt Sutter & Katey Sagal
- Esme Regan (b. 2007)Girl
daughter of actors Vincent Regan and Amelia Curtis
- Esme Stephenson (b. 2008)Girl
daughter of actress Nicola Stephenson
- Esme Marlena Jones (b. 2008)Girl
daughter of actors Alicia Coppola and Anthony Michael Jones
- Esme Bibi Ayoade (b. 2009)Girl
daughter of Lydia Fox & Richard Ayoade
- Esme Alexa Ingham (b.2009)Girl
Youtuber
- Esme Eccleston (b. 2013)Girl
son of Christopher Eccleston
- Esme Olivia Olsen (2016)Girl
daughter of Eric Christian Olsen & Sarah Wright Olsen
Esme in pop culture
- Esme WatsonGirl
from Australian TV's "A Country Practice"
- EsmeGirl
"For Esme with Love and Squalor," by J. D. Salinger
- Esme CullenGirl
vampire mother in the Twilight Saga
- Esme AmarinthGirl
male character in "The Green Carnation"
- Esme Gigi Genevieve SqualorGirl
antagonist in Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
- Esme RockettGirl
character in "Sister Mischief" by Laura Goode
- EsmeGirl
character in The Recognitions by William Gaddis
- Esme MurrayGirl
character on TV's "Hamish Macbeth"
- Esme Carter TaylorGirl
from "Anne of Windy Poplars"
- EsmeGirl
ghost on children's television series "Dani's Castle"
- Esme CuckooGirl
mutant in X,Men comics
- Esme SongGirl
a character in Degrassi: Next Class
- Esme VanderheusenGirl
character on American soap "Passions"
- Esme WeatherwaxGirl
witch in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld"
- Esme CastilloGirl
character in "The Dollhouse" by Fiona Davis
- Esme Shelby (née Lee)Girl
character from Peaky Blinders
- Esme FrostGirl
character in the TV show "The Gifted"
- “Esme”Girl
2010 song by Joanna Newsom