I’m wondering if you guys prefer the look of [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] or if you think it’s better to leave the accent out - [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. I think [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] looks nicer but I’m wondering whether it could be too much of a ‘‘nuisance’’? For example: People not spelling it that way, choosing not to correct them, etc. What do you think?
both! pretty and unnecessary
I wouldn’t bother to correct people over an accent…
I think it would be better without the accent. I met a [name_f]Zoë[/name_f] but she never wrote it with the dots on the e.
If you are in the US I would leave it out.
If you live in a country that doesn’t use accents (US, UK, Aus, etc) then I would leave it out because it will just get forgotten / left off and become a frustration.
Seconding this
Agreed. It’s pretty, but I also know people with accents in their names, and they rarely use them because it’s tedious write it every time + it’s not common practice in the US
I get what all of you are saying, I was asking because it truly is only one extra keystroke
I love the accent in terms of how it looks (it’s definitely pretty), but I also think it depends on how you pronounce [name_f]Esme[/name_f].
Personally, I say Ez-mee, spelt [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. But I know a lot of people who pronounce it Ez-may. If it had an accent I would be more inclined to pronounce it as Ez-may.
It is, but it gets left off of documents & kind of just becomes an irritation & is generally pointless from everything I’ve read from people who technically have an accent in their name that live in the US. But that’s just from what I’ve read, not my own personal experience. Accent mark or no accent mark, the name is lovely
I think it is unnecessary if you find that the pronunciation comes across without it.
Esme … Ppl too old or too young to have gotten into the Twilight craze might try to pronounce it incorrectly, e.g. Ezzim, Ezmuh, Ezmee, Essmee, etc.
Unless you live in a Spanish speaking country. If you live somewhere where the official language is Spanish, then it is already spelled phonetically.
What I would do, in order to preference:
- Pick a different name
- Use an alternate spelling
- Spell it correctly, ie with the accent, and just not fuss so much if ppl leave it off accidentally.
Potential Alternate Spellings.
Ay: Instead of the terminal é, you could assure correct pronunciation with -ay.
- Esmay
- Ezmay
Ae: æ is what é replaces in French. (Italian uses e too represent the æ sound, and è for the eh sound). Using æ is not advisable in US , but ae would work just fine. The -ae spellings are having their moment, especially for MNsm notably Rae and Mae.
- Esmae
- Ezmae
I have only ever heard it pronounced Ez-may.
Personally I feel like it’s worth including the accent, esp if you’re wanting the ez-may pronunciation to be instinctive, but also simply in honour of the name’s language. I’d also say, of the ones I know/have met, I’m actually more used to seeing it with the accent than without (UK-based so maybe proximity to [name_f]France[/name_f] has something to do with that).
On the nuisance front, my middle name has a diaeresis ([name_f]Zoë[/name_f] if anyone’s wondering) which I’m used to people missing off and it doesn’t stress me too much. It’s just something that I make an effort to include myself because me & my parents are linguistics nerds who care about that sort of thing. Maybe I’d feel differently if it was my first name though…
I think [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] is a much prettier name with the accent. It honors the name’s original language and it seems like you prefer it over [name_f]Esme[/name_f]! As someone who has accents in all of their last names, it’s totally not a nuisance at all-- it’s as much as a problem as it is writing a period or a comma at the end of a sentence haha!
Pretty and unnecessary. It’s a nice detail for sure, but [name_f]Esme[/name_f] itself is equally good imo
As a [name_u]French[/name_u] speaker I absolutely am here for the accent. I love it!
My mum is a [name_f]Zoë[/name_f] and people usually remember to spell it that way so I don’t see why [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] would be any different. I also know an [name_f]Amélie[/name_f] here in the UK and her accent has never been a problem even though it’s right in the middle of the name. I feel like because the é is on the end of [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] (and is in fact intégral to the correct pronunciation) you’d be completely fine.
I like the [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] spelling better but it will get mispeld a lot of times
I think [name_f]Esmé[/name_f] would cut down on pronunciation issues, but [name_f]Esme[/name_f] looks just as nice. Some read [name_f]Esme[/name_f] as “ez-mee”
The people I know who have an accent in their name never use it, so I’ve only written their names without it. But I don’t think they wish their names didn’t have an accent, it just gets left off. For reference I live in the US.
I think it’s pretty, and if you live in a country where accents are used I would definitely include it. However in the US not only are accents often left off legal documents, they aren’t taught at school so people don’t even really know what the accent means or how it changes the sound.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use it if you love it, it’s just something to consider.