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Original poster

Pronunciation of Esme

172 replies

Halfpastfreckle · 02/09/2018 09:56

We had pretty much decided on this name if this baby (currently 32 weeks) is a girl. I think of it as es-may. However at the park yesterday I heard one little boy call out to his sister Es-mee. Don’t like this at all and frankly it is putting me off. Is this a common pronunciation of the name??

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hellsbells552 · 06/09/2018 07:08

@Sunflower321 I can’t tell if that was sarky or sincere...

MargaretDribble · 06/09/2018 07:18

I knew an Esme (me not mee) years ago when it was a dull old fashioned name, and a more recent Esmay. Personal choice surely.

LucyLou19 · 06/09/2018 08:34

I have a 7 year old called Esmee and people call her Es May and I absolutely hate it 🤢🤮 she even corrects them now!!! Esme with a hyphen is pronounced es May.

Sunflower321 · 06/09/2018 08:41

Mainly sincere, hellsbells Smile

mintich · 06/09/2018 08:44

I've only ever heard it pronounced Esmay

Sunflower321 · 06/09/2018 08:49

Lucylou, I'd pronounce it Es-me unless it was spelt Esmé or Esmae.

LucyLou19 · 06/09/2018 09:22

That’s right @sunflower 👌🏼

DC06 · 06/09/2018 10:17

I would pronounce it
Ess-may
Or to that effect in my Scottish accent.

MumUnderTheMoon · 06/09/2018 14:39

You could spell it Esmae then no confusion.

HouseworkIsASin10 · 06/09/2018 16:09

Ez May to me aswell.

EsMee doesn't sound right, like Smee in Peter Pan.

Ariclock · 06/09/2018 16:17

I've only ever heard it pronounced as Ez may. That's influenced by Twilight though.

upsidedown1987 · 25/10/2020 00:02

I would say Ez-mee. How popular is this name? This thread makes me think it's very popular but I thought it was only mid table?

upsidedown1987 · 25/10/2020 11:01

bump :)

SemperIdem · 26/10/2020 00:12

I’ve known a few Esme’s, all but one are “es-may”. I strongly dislike “Es-mee”.

I was entirely put off Clara when I found out that some pronounce it “Claire-ah” rather than “Klar-ah”.

Greenbook320 · 26/10/2020 07:14

Why can't it be pronounced both ways and both ways be right? It's the same name still.

We looked at this name for our daughter x

upsidedown1987 · 26/10/2020 11:41

@Greenbook320 Did you not choose it because of the pronunciation issue? Can I ask why you didn't go for it if not? :)

ProfessorPlumInTheLibrary · 26/10/2020 12:45

I've only ever heard it pronounced Ez-may. Which is the correct pronounciation, surely, because as previous posters have said it's derived from the French past participle? Hearing it pronounced Ez-mee would make me cringe. As another poster said:

Es-mee is akin to pronouncing Nestlé as 'Nessils'.

bridgetreilly · 26/10/2020 12:50

Why are we bumping a thread that's 2 years old?

ZOMBIE!!!!

ProfessorPlumInTheLibrary · 26/10/2020 12:51

The reply from @florascotia2 is spot on!

Greenbook320 · 26/10/2020 13:11

Because my sister in law had it x

pprmint · 26/10/2020 15:24

I've never heard anyone pronounce it Es-mee before. I love Esme pronounced Es-May.

foxtiger · 26/10/2020 15:55

I'd spell it Esmé if I wanted to be sure of getting that pronunciation you prefer.

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