Esmé
title: "Esmé" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["french-unisex-given-names", "unisex-given-names", "given-names-derived-from-gemstones"] topic_path: "geography/france" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esmé" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox given name"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Esmé |
| pronunciation | , or |
| gender | male or female |
| meaning | 1. Old French: "beloved", "esteemed" |
- Short for Esméralda | | origin | Old French esmé (feminine esmée), "esteemed", past participle of esmer, "to esteem" | | related names | Edmé, Esméralda, Ismi | ::
| name = Esmé | image= | imagesize= | caption= | pronunciation= , or | gender = male or female | meaning = 1. Old French: "beloved", "esteemed" 2. Short for Esméralda | region = | origin = Old French esmé (feminine esmée), "esteemed", past participle of esmer, "to esteem" | related names = Edmé, Esméralda, Ismi | footnotes = Esmé (commonly Esme) or Esmée is a given name derived from the past participle of the Old French verb esmer, "to esteem", thus signifying "esteemed", or similarly "beloved". Originally a masculine name, Esmé had become a feminine name by the mid-twentieth century.
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".
Esme was among the 100 most popular baby names for girls in the UK in 2015.
Esme is also used as a short form for the Spanish feminine name Esmeralda, meaning "emerald".
People
Men
In order of birth:
- Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox (1542–1583), Scottish earl of French descent
- Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox (1579–1624), Scottish nobleman, younger son of the above
- Esmé Stewart, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 5th Duke of Lennox (1649–1660), Scottish duke, grandson of 3rd Duke of Lennox
- Esmé Collings (1859–1936), English photographer, miniaturist and early film pioneer
- Esmé Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Penrith (1863–1939), British diplomat, Ambassador to the United States
- Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford (1882–1971), English historian and writer
- Esme Percy (1887–1957), British actor
- Esme Haywood (1900–1985), English cricketer
- Esmé Gordon (1910–1993), Scottish architect
- Esme Mends (born 1986), Ghanaian football player
Women
In order of birth:
- Esmè Stuart, pen name of Amélie Claire Leroy (1851–1934), English writer
- Esme Church (1893–1972), British actress and theatre director
- Esmé Wynne-Tyson (1898–1972), English actress and writer
- Esme Roberts (1911–1995), British artist
- Esme Timbery (1931–2023), Australian Bidjigal artist and shellworker
- Esme Grant (1920-1987), Jamaican politician
- Esme Mackinnon (1913-1999), British skier
- Esmé Hooton (1914–1992), English poet
- Esme Tombleson (1917–2010), New Zealand politician
- Esme Melville (1918–2006), Australian actress
- Esme Langley (1919–1991), British writer
- Esmée Fairbairn, eponym of British charity the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
- Esme Irwin (1931–2001), British cricket player
- Esmé Emmanuel (born 1947), South African tennis player
- Esme Young (born 1949), English fashion designer
- Esme Steyn (born 1953), South African lawn bowler
- Esmé Wiegman (born 1975), Dutch politician
- Esmé Bianco (born 1982), British actress, model, and performer
- Esmé Kamphuis (born 1983), Dutch bobsledder
- Esmé Patterson (born 1985), American musician
- Esmée Denters (born 1988), Dutch singer
- Esmé Creed-Miles (born 2000), English actress
- Esme Morgan (born 2000), English footballer
- Esmee Brugts (born 2003), Dutch footballer
- Esme Francis, Cornish musician
Fictional characters
- Esme & Roy, title character
- Esmé Howe-Nevinson, painter in the 1957 Elizabeth Taylor novel Angel
- Esme Shelby, wife of John Shelby in the TV series Peaky Blinders
- Esme Macknade, in the long-running BBC Radio 4 First World War drama Home Front
- Esme, in the 1955 William Gaddis novel The Recognitions
- Esmé, in the J. D. Salinger short story "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor"
- Esmé Kipps, in the Susan Hill novel The Woman in Black
- Esmé Amarinth, in the novel The Green Carnation
- Esme Cuckoo, mutant in the Marvel Universe
- Esme Cullen, vampire in the Twilight series
- Esme Murray, in the sitcom Hamish Macbeth
- Esme Prince, in the soap opera General Hospital
- Esme, boa constrictor in the movie Foul Play
- Esmé Squalor, villainess in the Lemony Snicket book series A Series of Unfortunate Events
- Esme Vanderheusen, in the soap opera Passions
- Esme Weatherwax, witch in the Discworld series
- Esme Watson, in the Australian TV series A Country Practice
- Birth mother of Anna Preston in the novel When Marnie Was There
- Esme Song, in the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: Next Class
- Esmé, murderous hyena in a story by Saki
- Esme Danvers-Olsen, foster child in Supergirl season 6
- Esme Lennox, eponymous heroine of the 2006 Maggie O'Farrell novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
- Esme Nicoll, protagonist of The Dictionary of Lost Words novel by Pip Williams
References
References
- John Orr, Words and Sounds: in English and French, 1953, p.114, quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=IwwNAQAAIAAJ&dq=esmer+esteem&pg=PA235]
- (22 October 2012). "Esme: Baby Name of the Day".
- G. E. Cokayne, ''[[The Complete Peerage]]'', n.s., vol.7, p.604, note (a)
- "The 100 Most Popular British Baby Names".
- "Snakes in Movies".
- Williams, Pip. (2020). "The Dictionary of Lost Words". Ballantine Books.
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