Esme or Esmé spelling?

[Namingtrends]

Hi dear MN,

I think we are set on the name of our DD due in a month. It’s been a favourite of mine forever because of Salinger.

I know there is some pronunciation debate, and as a French national living in the UK, I would pronounce it Es-may (more meh even) and would prefer to spell it Esmé.

Does the spelling Esmé work well in the UK? I don’t want to set her up for a lifetime of administrative struggle because of the accent, but maybe I’m overthinking it and it’s completely fine?

Very keen to hear from you all :) I think you would know better than I do on the question. Thanks!

Oh no don’t ditch the accent! It’s so much more elegant with it...

I genuinely didn't know the pronunciation was different. I have a Esme and shes always been referred to as Es-may

Oh you got me curious what is it @musicinspring1? Yeah the Twilight association is annoying but I decided I liked the name too much to let it put me off! I think the name is popular enough, no one thinks people named their daughter Isabella after Twilight for instance!

@Ninkanink I prefer it as well, a lot, but is it worth it if it’s left off lots of official documents and all I wish the UK used our French accents, selfishly!

For me Esme is Es me
With an accent it s Es may.

Keep the accent imo, Esmé is much more visually pleasing.

Can't abide the Esmee pronunciation myself

My friend has an Esme (with accent!) Never had any issue with it as far as I’m aware. It’s a lovely name.

@SabrinaTheMiddleAgedBitch it isn’t different, just a lot of people mispronounce it...

On behalf of the sizeable minority(?) Of Brits who took A Level French 15+ years ago, please use the accent. We know what to do with it. Conjugating verbs in the subjunctive is where we get lost.

@Historydweeb

Esme without the accent is Ez-mee Esmé is pronounced Ez-may

Correct!

But the accent will be left off all the time, sorry! and it will still be confused so decide early how angry you can be bothered to get about Ez-mee.

@PracticingPerson apparently people pronounce it differently, accent or not, and I’m not bothered about either. Thanks!

I have a 12 year old Esmé. As others said sometimes the accent gets missed off but she is fairly militant about it - I overheard her telling her English teacher the alt code for an é yesterday ;)

Thanks everyone for the answers :) @CabernetSoWhat love it!

I’ve never known anyone pronounce it es-mee

I'd use Esme with the accent, to make sure you get the prettier Es -meh pronunciation. Yes, obviously be aware that lots of people (including me!) can't add the accent on their computers - but even written without the accent, I'd still guess it was pronounced Es- meh, (rather than Es- mee unless told otherwise).

Esmé - she may well move to France or another accent-friendly country when she grows up!

[quote Namingtrends]@PracticingPerson apparently people pronounce it differently, accent or not, and I’m not bothered about either. Thanks![/quote]
Correct. I know one pronounced Es-may and one Es-mee, it's just preference/accent maybe, or regional.

They one pronounced Es-may isn't spelt with the accent either, and generally when you meet people you doing see their name written down so wouldn't influence pronunciation either way

@beccahamlet

For me Esme is Es me With an accent it s Es may.

I'm the same. If you want the Es-may pronunciation use the accent. It will help reduce the number of times you and she have to correct people!

Yes I'd definitely use the accented version! I would pronounce it as Es-may anyway but recently found out about the Es-mee pronunciation which I was surprised about, so I think the accent would help make it clearer for people.

I read both names the same way - Es-May. I really like the name. I have never heard Es-Mee.

I think whichever way you spell it, you will end up with some people pronouncing it wrong. The accented é may get left off a lot by people though, as it's not always easy to find on a UK keyboard.

My dd's name can have two pronunciations, it hasn't been an issue for us. When telling people her name, if I do so via text I write out the pronunciation we use phonetically. My dd strongly identifies with her name so will always speak up if it's pronounced incorrectly!

I'd use the accent. I would pronounce it Es-me without and Es-may with, based on my GCSE French knowledge.

I know two Esmes, both now in their 40s, and both pronounced Es-me. Both obviously pre-Twilight, maybe it's a generational thing on how English people assume it's pronounced?!

I have a friend who has an accent on her name. I do use the accent if I'm handwriting but never bother if I'm texting or emailing.

The accent will get dropped. People will say what they want to ...

My name is french. You should hear people say it in Manchester or Yorkshire accent

My grandmother had two friends called Esme. Both pronounced it Ezmee (born in the 1920s and 30s) so I grew up saying it that way.
Nowadays I usually remember to say Ezmay but then some people say Ezmee themselves!
With the accent at least I know how I'm supposed to say it without even asking. And other names do have accents as well so I don't think it's particularly odd.

@Hammonds you got me curious! French name?
I think Esme is one of these names you can't get precious about; as in some people will say it one way and some another, and that's just the way it is. Many names have this small 'issue' though like Kayla, Layla, even Eva.
Once she says it the way we pronounce it at home, people just know and use the "correct" pronunciation.

I'd default to Ez-may for whichever the spelling (wasn't aware of the Ez-mee version before Mumsnet). Like Renee or Renée - the same with or without the accent.

However, I'd use Esmé, particularly if you are French. It's nice, and possibly helps with pronunciation a bit too. If it gets left off sometimes, who cares really.