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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

How would you pronounce Esme?

70 replies

JojoMags · 09/05/2013 17:43

I think this is beautiful pn Es-may but ordinary pn Es-me. Would I be fighting a losing battle against a tide of Es-me if we used this?

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efffy · 09/05/2013 22:05

My DD is an Es-me, we are in the West Country. There are a couple of others at school/clubs etc and they are all es-mes too. She's in juniors now and no-ones ever made a joke out of it either

chartreuse · 09/05/2013 22:08

Es may, very pretty

BooCanary · 09/05/2013 22:13

Ezmay to me.

3boysgirlontheway · 10/05/2013 04:22

EzMay to me as well, have never met any pronounced the other way. All the Esme's in ireland (that I ever met or heard of) are EzMay.

daisydoodoo · 10/05/2013 11:59

my Esme is a southerner and we have the ` over the last e.

Littlehousesomewhere · 10/05/2013 12:02

ehz-may

BobblyGussets · 10/05/2013 12:12

Es-may is far nicer than Ez-me, which I really don't like. I have a neice called the former and she has never been troubled in all of her 9 years by people calling her "Ezme". She is a pretty little girl, so I always think of the "Es-may" prononounciation as the pretty version, the other one less so.

Tickledyellow · 10/05/2013 13:33

I know of two adult Esme and they both pronounce it Es- mee. I think the name is French and you would need an accent on last e for an es- may pronunciation. Have to say I love both ways of pronouncing it! Beautiful name and very nearly used it for DD

TwasBrillig · 10/05/2013 21:39

It must be one of those names that opinion is divided on (depending what you grew up with?)

I'd certainly say Es-me was the "usual" name (southerner) and the pretty version. Haven't heard of Es-may before this thread, I'd think it would sound a bit odd to me.

Layl77 · 10/05/2013 21:52

Only heard ez may here

MoonHare · 10/05/2013 23:00

With an accent over last e it is pn Ez-may and as it is a French name this is the 'correct' pn.

However in the UK some people prefer to drop the accent and pn Ez-mee, historically this variation of the name was more commonly used in Scotland.

Personally I think the Ez-may pn is much nicer.

elah11 · 10/05/2013 23:09

I have only ever heard the Ez may pn irl and then the Ez me pn on forums like this. Ez me is dreadful, sorry, I much prefer Ez may.

Alisvolatpropiis · 12/05/2013 07:59

Es-may with a hard s.

SgtTJCalhoun · 12/05/2013 08:02

It's one of my favourite girls names as Es me. I don't like it as Es May.

20wkbaby · 12/05/2013 08:07

I am 40 and went to school with an Esme (esmay). Obviously it comes from the French so accent or not it is Esmay - there is no such name as Esmee unless you just copy all the people who can't pronounce it properly.

A bit like Holborn being pronounced Holl-born rather than Ho-burn just cos lots of people do it doesn't make it right.

chickensaladagain · 12/05/2013 08:15

I've never heard of es-me

Sounds made up or a nickname

It's always been es-may and I don't think it's a north/south thing, just the correct way to pronounce it

BrienneOfTarth · 12/05/2013 08:31

If you're worried, why not use a variant spelling - would "Esmae" escape being mispronounced?

Original poster

JojoMags · 12/05/2013 10:29

Thanks everyone. On balance there seem to be more 'Es-mays' than 'Es-mees'. Hurrah!

OP posts:

Shinyshoes1 · 12/05/2013 10:30

I know an Esme

She pronounces it Ez May

deste · 12/05/2013 21:57

My 87 year old neighbour is an Ez- may.

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