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HelpEsmé vs. Esmée
Do you like these names at all?
Does it bother anybody else that the masculine form has become popular for girls when the feminine form is right there???
If so, does taking it a step away from its French roots and removing the accent (Esme) make it more or less appealing as a girl’s name?
What do you think of Esme as a nn for Esmeralda?
There is a great kids’ show called Esme and Roy. Would giving your kid the name of a figure that is currently popular among her peers make you like the name more or less?
Does it bother anybody else that the masculine form has become popular for girls when the feminine form is right there???
If so, does taking it a step away from its French roots and removing the accent (Esme) make it more or less appealing as a girl’s name?
What do you think of Esme as a nn for Esmeralda?
There is a great kids’ show called Esme and Roy. Would giving your kid the name of a figure that is currently popular among her peers make you like the name more or less?
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Replies
I really like Esmée. As a French Canadian, yes, it does bother me a bit when I see Esmé or Esme used, but mostly I just think it's odd. I see that with René/Rene/Renée, Jean/Jeanne, and Noël/Noëlle a lot. The spelling issue is the reason I'd never use it. My family is bilingual (French and English) and it just wouldn't work.
My SO and I have considered Esmeralda with the nn Esmée. We were watching The Worst Witch on Netflix, and there was a lovely character named Esmeralda, who went by Esmée as a nn. We fell in love with it. But to answer your question, it would depend on the character and show (is the character annoying, for example). In French forums, they ALWAYS bring up Twilight for the name Esmé(e). I don't know if that bothers you. It doesn't bother me, personally, but I know many people who despise that franchise.
My SO and I have considered Esmeralda with the nn Esmée. We were watching The Worst Witch on Netflix, and there was a lovely character named Esmeralda, who went by Esmée as a nn. We fell in love with it. But to answer your question, it would depend on the character and show (is the character annoying, for example). In French forums, they ALWAYS bring up Twilight for the name Esmé(e). I don't know if that bothers you. It doesn't bother me, personally, but I know many people who despise that franchise.
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I think the Canadian thing might be why the masculine/feminine thing bothers me so much. Neither I nor my family are bilingual, but there are a lot of French-speaking people around and I think it would be kind of ignorant to knowingly give my kid the wrong version.
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I think that could definitely be it. We pick up more French than we realize just from years of seeing the French printed next to the English.
If it helps at all, in Ontario, in 2016, there were 27 girls named Esme born, 12 girls named Esmé, and 11 girls named Esmée. In Québec, the stats are similar, except Esmée/Esmee has 13 and Esmé/Esme has 10. So, I think it's unusual enough that any of the spellings could work.
If it helps at all, in Ontario, in 2016, there were 27 girls named Esme born, 12 girls named Esmé, and 11 girls named Esmée. In Québec, the stats are similar, except Esmée/Esmee has 13 and Esmé/Esme has 10. So, I think it's unusual enough that any of the spellings could work.
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I love Esme for a girl.
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Do you like these names at all?
Yes, I like Esme / Esmé as unisex but would be more likely to use it as feminine.
Does it bother anybody else that the masculine form has become popular for girls when the feminine form is right there???
No, probably because I'm (female) named Noel after a man and also not French. Plus, I'm used to Rene as unisex.
If so, does taking it a step away from its French roots and removing the accent (Esme) make it more or less appealing as a girl’s name?
I don't care. Esmée is nice for girls, too, but I think it would be more likely to confuse Americans than Esme.
What do you think of Esme as a nn for Esmeralda?
I like it, but Esmer sounds more natural to me, and I'd be more likely to use Esme by itself, anyway.
Would giving your kid the name of a figure that is currently popular among her peers make you like the name more or less?
I've never heard of Esme and Roy, but I know Dora the Explorer made Dora sound younger and more familiar to me, so probably more, unless it got super popular because of the kids' show and that was what *everyone* associated it with first (I don't think that's an issue with Esme).
Yes, I like Esme / Esmé as unisex but would be more likely to use it as feminine.
Does it bother anybody else that the masculine form has become popular for girls when the feminine form is right there???
No, probably because I'm (female) named Noel after a man and also not French. Plus, I'm used to Rene as unisex.
If so, does taking it a step away from its French roots and removing the accent (Esme) make it more or less appealing as a girl’s name?
I don't care. Esmée is nice for girls, too, but I think it would be more likely to confuse Americans than Esme.
What do you think of Esme as a nn for Esmeralda?
I like it, but Esmer sounds more natural to me, and I'd be more likely to use Esme by itself, anyway.
Would giving your kid the name of a figure that is currently popular among her peers make you like the name more or less?
I've never heard of Esme and Roy, but I know Dora the Explorer made Dora sound younger and more familiar to me, so probably more, unless it got super popular because of the kids' show and that was what *everyone* associated it with first (I don't think that's an issue with Esme).
This message was edited 12/22/2019, 2:52 PM
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I'm mostly neutral about them, or put them in the ok basket.
The masculine version / feminine version thing doesn't bother me, my daughter was named Evelyn and that was originally used for boys. The "extra" 'e' just looks "extra" to me and unnecessary as I'm so used to seeing it written Esme.
I don't think many people would bother with the accent these days? I could be wrong.
Using Esme as a nn for Esmeralda doesn't work for me, too different names in their own right. I like Esmeralda! I would use Essie or something else.
I personally wouldn't name a child after a popular kids show character. Looking at the stats Esme is "trendy" and on the up these days.
The masculine version / feminine version thing doesn't bother me, my daughter was named Evelyn and that was originally used for boys. The "extra" 'e' just looks "extra" to me and unnecessary as I'm so used to seeing it written Esme.
I don't think many people would bother with the accent these days? I could be wrong.
Using Esme as a nn for Esmeralda doesn't work for me, too different names in their own right. I like Esmeralda! I would use Essie or something else.
I personally wouldn't name a child after a popular kids show character. Looking at the stats Esme is "trendy" and on the up these days.
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I'm not generally a fan. It's not a terrible name but it reminds me of the word "asthma." Also, I would never use a name with diacritical marks because it would be such a pain to deal with. And to add to the hassle, people pronounce it in various ways.
Normally I'm a stickler for spelling things the correct, original way, such as Gwendolen rather than Gwendolyn. However, I have to admit that the name does look more tailored with just one 'e'.
It does make a good nickname for Esmeralda, which is a name I love because it's so over-the-top.
The kids' show would make me a bit less likely to use the name. But Twilight would have much more of a negative impact on me than that, as far as pop culture goes.
Normally I'm a stickler for spelling things the correct, original way, such as Gwendolen rather than Gwendolyn. However, I have to admit that the name does look more tailored with just one 'e'.
It does make a good nickname for Esmeralda, which is a name I love because it's so over-the-top.
The kids' show would make me a bit less likely to use the name. But Twilight would have much more of a negative impact on me than that, as far as pop culture goes.
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I love them, they sound romantic, historical, and "young duchess disguises herself as a stable boy and travels Europe horseback before succumbing to the plague". I don't really mind that it used to be a masculine name - Esmé is an older form than Esmée, and the one I prefer. Esmée looks overly elaborate and a bit pretentious. That being said, I am a bit bitter that like Evelyn, the name has become completely feminine (I like both Esmé and Evelyn on boys and girls alike, but could never use them for the former). Esmé looks much nicer than plain Esme, in my opinion. I do like the idea of Esme as a nickname for Esmeralda, but I'm not very fond of Esmeralda. It makes me think of Granny Weatherwax from the Discworld series, which is a good association, though. I've never heard of Esme and Roy, and I don't think it would be an issue.
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Esme, with that spelling, has been used exclusively for girls since the 19th century here in South Africa. Only by Afrikaans namers, to my knowledge. Saffers have always been bad at French - the default European language studied in most schools was always German, though French is taking over as Africa opens up to us: we've got a large Congolese population, for instance.
Swift example: I knew a man, would have been in his 90s by now, whose name sounded like George but was spelt Georges "so that people wouldn't think it was Georg". Make sense to you? I thought not!
I like Esme a lot. The best teacher I ever had, I think, was called Esme, and it was DH's aunt's mn, after some relative of hers. Funny, though: I'm quite relaxed about Esme being fem, but other misplaced French spellings tend to bug me. For instance, Herschel is familiar though dated as a Jewish fn, and I like it, but some years ago we had an international cricketer who was not even slightly Jewish and was named Herschelle, pronounced just like Herschel. Still can't get my head around it.
If anything can make Esmeralda possible, I suppose it's Esme! Though Granny Weatherwax is a hard act to follow.
Swift example: I knew a man, would have been in his 90s by now, whose name sounded like George but was spelt Georges "so that people wouldn't think it was Georg". Make sense to you? I thought not!
I like Esme a lot. The best teacher I ever had, I think, was called Esme, and it was DH's aunt's mn, after some relative of hers. Funny, though: I'm quite relaxed about Esme being fem, but other misplaced French spellings tend to bug me. For instance, Herschel is familiar though dated as a Jewish fn, and I like it, but some years ago we had an international cricketer who was not even slightly Jewish and was named Herschelle, pronounced just like Herschel. Still can't get my head around it.
If anything can make Esmeralda possible, I suppose it's Esme! Though Granny Weatherwax is a hard act to follow.
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They're nice. Not favorites of mine.
It doesn't bother me about the gendered forms, although it might if I were French myself. I like the feminine name about the same whether it's French-style or Esme. I don't really go for Esme on a guy.
Where I live, at least, Esme is just much easier for people to get right - and it's the same name. And it's not like people would mistake it for a guy's name. I think people would be liable to missay Esmée as "Ez-mee," too. So if I liked Esme for a girl I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I mean, if she goes to France or something, she can always tack on an E and a mark, it's not really like she's changing her name.
Tons of names are taken from French to English and change their gender, pronunciation, and spelling in the process. It's not a terrible thing. The French take English names and sometimes respell them, too. Keeping a name close to its roots *and* borrowing it into another language usage, isn't really possible anyway.
Esme as a nick for Esmeralda would be okay. Again though, slightly prone to become "Es-mee."
My perception of a name doesn't really change that much based on current popular characters. You never know how long they'll be around, nor how much your own exposure to the character distorts how important it seems to you. I would just check if at least some other people are using it in real life. If they are, then it's cool to use. Otherwise I'd be a little worried that people (or my kid) would think I named her after the character, and I think that'd be undesirable.
It doesn't bother me about the gendered forms, although it might if I were French myself. I like the feminine name about the same whether it's French-style or Esme. I don't really go for Esme on a guy.
Where I live, at least, Esme is just much easier for people to get right - and it's the same name. And it's not like people would mistake it for a guy's name. I think people would be liable to missay Esmée as "Ez-mee," too. So if I liked Esme for a girl I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I mean, if she goes to France or something, she can always tack on an E and a mark, it's not really like she's changing her name.
Tons of names are taken from French to English and change their gender, pronunciation, and spelling in the process. It's not a terrible thing. The French take English names and sometimes respell them, too. Keeping a name close to its roots *and* borrowing it into another language usage, isn't really possible anyway.
Esme as a nick for Esmeralda would be okay. Again though, slightly prone to become "Es-mee."
My perception of a name doesn't really change that much based on current popular characters. You never know how long they'll be around, nor how much your own exposure to the character distorts how important it seems to you. I would just check if at least some other people are using it in real life. If they are, then it's cool to use. Otherwise I'd be a little worried that people (or my kid) would think I named her after the character, and I think that'd be undesirable.
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Esmé is one of my daughter's middle names.
If she had been born a few years earlier it might have been Esmée, I went back and forth a lot on which spelling I preferred. But obviously I don't mind the masculine spelling. My logic was this-- I think it's very likely the accent will get dropped. It doesn't go on US birth certificates, it doesn't go on SSA cards. Also, most people don't know how to type the accent over the e and honestly I'd rather have them leave it off entirely than write Esme' (which would have been Esme'e if she had 2 Es, gross). Buut anyway, the thought is that I think Esmee is more likely to be mispronounced than Esme. And Esme is 'cleaner' looking.
Esmeralda is too much for me but it's a decent nickname if that's your style.
A popular character would turn me away from a name. I wasn't watching kid shows before she was born though.
If she had been born a few years earlier it might have been Esmée, I went back and forth a lot on which spelling I preferred. But obviously I don't mind the masculine spelling. My logic was this-- I think it's very likely the accent will get dropped. It doesn't go on US birth certificates, it doesn't go on SSA cards. Also, most people don't know how to type the accent over the e and honestly I'd rather have them leave it off entirely than write Esme' (which would have been Esme'e if she had 2 Es, gross). Buut anyway, the thought is that I think Esmee is more likely to be mispronounced than Esme. And Esme is 'cleaner' looking.
Esmeralda is too much for me but it's a decent nickname if that's your style.
A popular character would turn me away from a name. I wasn't watching kid shows before she was born though.
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