Esmé

Esmé (more commonly Esme) or Esmée is an English first name, from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, "to esteem", thus signifying "esteemed". Another theory is that esmer is an alternate spelling of today's aimer,[1] "to love", thus the name is aimé, meaning "beloved", equivalent to the modern feminine first name "Amy". Originally a masculine name, Esme had become a feminine name by the mid-twentieth century.[2]

"Esme" redirects here. For other uses, see Esme (disambiguation).
Esmé
Pronunciation/ˈɛmeɪ/, /ˈɛzmeɪ/ or /ˈɛzmiː/
Gendermale or female
Origin
Word/nameOld French esmé (feminine esmée), "esteemed", past participle of esmer, "to esteem"
Meaning1. Old French: "beloved", "esteemed"
2. Short for Esméralda
Other names
Related namesEdmé, Esméralda, Ismi

The name was first popularised by Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox (1542–1583), a French nobleman of Scottish origins who returned to Scotland for part of his life. However with regard to spelling (and pronunciation), on one of his surviving letters, dated 1583, he signed himself "Amy".[3]

Esme was among the 100 most popular baby names for girls in the UK in 2015.[4]

Esme is also used as a short form for the Spanish feminine name Esmeralda, meaning 'emerald'.

Notable bearers

Men

In order of birth:

Women

In order of birth:

Fictional characters
  • Esme & Roy's eponymous character
  • Esme, John Shelby's Gypsy wife in the TV series Peaky Blinders
  • Esme Macknade, a feisty teenage maid servant, is a regular character in the long running BBC Radio 4 First World War drama Home Front
  • Esme, in William Gaddis' 1955 novel The Recognitions
  • Esmé, in J. D. Salinger's short story "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor"
  • Esmé Kipps, in Susan Hill's Novel The Woman In Black
  • Esmé Amarinth, in the novel The Green Carnation
  • Esme Cuckoo, a mutant in the Marvel Universe
  • Esme Cullen, a vampire in the Twilight series
  • Esme Murray, in the sitcom Hamish Macbeth
  • Esmé Squalor, a villainess in Lemony Snicket's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events
  • Esme Vanderheusen, in the soap opera Passions
  • Esme Weatherwax, a witch in the Discworld series
  • Esme Watson, in the Australian TV series A Country Practice
  • Esme, only daughter of Marnie and her cousin Edward, who is/was Anna Preston's birth mother in the novel but renamed Emily in the Ghibli film of When Marnie Was There
  • Esme Song, in the Canadian Teen Drama franchise Degrassi specifically Degrassi: Next Class. List of Degrassi: Next Class characters
  • Esmé, a name given to a murderous hyena of indeterminate gender in a Saki story.
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See also
  • All pages with titles beginning with Esme
  • All pages with titles beginning with Esmé
  • Edmé
  • Esmeralda (disambiguation)

References
  1. John Orr, Words and Sounds: in English and French, 1953, p.114, quoted in
  2. Sandel, Abby. "Esme: Baby Name of the Day". Appellation Mountain.
  3. GEC Complete Peerage, vol.7, p.604, note (a)
  4. https://www.yahoo.com/news/the-100-most-popular-british-baby-names-126911905396.html
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