See the results of this poll: Which spelling of esme do you prefer
Respondents: 62 (This poll is closed)
- Esmé : 14 (23%)
- Esmée : 4 (6%)
- Esme : 38 (61%)
- Esmee : 1 (2%)
- Esmae : 1 (2%)
- Esmay: 4 (6%)
My favourite is #3, then #2 
[name_f]Love[/name_f] this name too!
My favorite is [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and then Esmée .
[name_f]Esme[/name_f] will be the most widely known
adding extra letters and accents is unnecessary and just adds on more things your child will have to correct people on
Esmé may be the original [name_m]French[/name_m] - but you arent in [name_f]France[/name_f], your child wont be spelling their name in [name_m]French[/name_m], drop the accent
orphanhanyou feedback and commentary like that is exactly why I created this thread.
Ideally I want to be a name purist, but realistically I don’t want to create unnecessary problems, so I am asking to see which spelling will be best accepted.
Unless you live in a [name_m]French[/name_m] speaking country (in which case I’d go with Esmée) I tend to think
“when in doubt - keep it simple” so for an Aussie, English or US babe I’d go with
[name_f]Esme[/name_f] or Esmee. I prefer [name_f]Esme[/name_f] but I think Esmee is better at suggesting the proper pronunciation.
Though if you want to be a name purist you can absolutely used Esmée (because this would be the most pure option for a girls name) and just don’t worry about the accent mark unless… it’s official paper work like ID’s, diplomas, marriage certificates - or anything you might want to frame. The casual dropping of an accent mark is really no big deal and if you and your SO can live with it I’m sure your daughter will be able to too. (It’s really no big deal on official paper work - officials are used to stupid mistakes and if the name is obvious enough they rare have an issue with it. Ex: When I got my first drivers license they typed my middle name as Sopie. I was way to excited to make sure it was correct. But when I went in a few months later to get it changed and explained the issue the guy at the DMV said it was obviously supposed to be [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] and didn’t even ask for a different ID to look at, though he should have. I’d assume a missing accent mark would make less of an issue.)
[name_f]Esmay[/name_f]! In spite of the fact that Esmée is the proper spelling, and that my name is [name_f]Renee[/name_f], I still like [name_f]Esmay[/name_f] the most : ) Maybe because it is closest to Esmeray?
[name_f]Esme[/name_f] without the accent is best if you don’t live in Europe. Many official forms don’t allow accents anyway so why complicate things if you don’t have to.
You haven’t stated where you live. I think that unless you’re an uber rich person with close ties to the name’s country of origin, avoiding accents in the USA is best. I prefer [name_f]Esme[/name_f] for somebody in the USA. [name_f]Esmay[/name_f] is definitely NOT cool with me.
@lexium I am scared of using Esmee and having people pronounce is Ez-mee. The spelling does suggest the pronunciation better when you keep names like [name_f]Renee[/name_f] in mind, however I can see this being common with [name_f]Esme[/name_f] being a better known variant. I wish J.D. [name_m]Salinger[/name_m] and that Twilight author had spelt the name with 2 e’s :mad:
I also know accents aren’t a big deal unless it’s a passport. I have 2 first names and when I got older I started using 1 as a first name and 1 as a middle name and virtually no one cares and they will look past it s they think it was their mistake.
@verminator I added in my living place. I figured for US, Canadian and Aussie not being near the country of origin and being exposed to books like “Twilight” it may be the same in regards to the name, but then again that may just be ignorance.
@chrisco I may just do another poll to see if which of Esmemray, Esmeree, [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] would be best to get [name_f]Esme[/name_f]. That way I could use Esmee as a nickname. Or not as I am also considering [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] as a petname for [name_f]Esme[/name_f].
Have you chosen a spelling yet? I’m still plugging for Esmée. I realize most people won’t use the accent. I accept that, and I’d be okay with it. Not everyone understands (or is interested in) [name_m]French[/name_m] culture like I do/am. But I would still go for the traditional feminine spelling over the most popular in the US. Mainly because I have a unisex name and I hate it; I wouldn’t purposely give my child the unisex spelling of anything if there’s a fully feminine variant.
Esmée.
[name_f]Esme[/name_f] pronounced as “[name_f]Esmay[/name_f]” makes no sense, phonetically speaking. You need the accent.
Esmé is masculine. If you’re going to use a foreign name, at least make an effort to respect the original language. You’d probably laugh if you met a [name_m]French[/name_m] man named [name_f]Frances[/name_f].
I don’t understand the problem accents. Names are increasingly more international and there are thousands of Americans named [name_u]Ren[/name_u]ée, Désirée, [name_m]Jos[/name_m]é, César, [name_m]Zo[/name_m]ë, and many others with umlauts and cedillas and apostrophes and hyphens in their names. She’ll be fine —*and she’ll be able to say she has a properly spelt name.
Ashthedreamer… I genuinely do like Esmée the best, if it counts for anything. Though it is the dark horse in the race it is my favorite. If I could get away with using the accent as well, I would. Like lexium said, accents in the US don’t really matter unless it is official paper work, so I will use the accent and stress to her it’s non-importance unless it is an official document.
[name_u]Truth[/name_u] be told, at the moment I am thinking of using Esmerée instead. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t know if to do another poll or just go ahead and use it. I think it’s rarity will give me more space to feely use the accent and set the pronunciation, but I am still thinking about it.
But most definately I will be using some form of the name with the extra e and the accent.
haha, thank you! So much of what I had tried to say in earlier threads (which was received with much grace, I must say!)–I’m just glad I’m not the only one thinking it. (Plus, you were probably much more eloquent than was I!)
“and she’ll be able to say she has a properly spelt name”
sugarplumfairy, this is actually the most important thing.
Whilst it is in the low 900s in [name_u]America[/name_u]… It is actually #261 currently in the UK with the properly spelt name.
I really do love properly spelt names, I just also wanted the general concensus which is why I created this poll.