Would you pronounce Esme - Es-me or Es-may?

[Minicooper]

I know it depends on whether you use an accent, but just wondering. Think I prefer Es-me, but Es-may is prob the original pronunication. And how popular is it in your neck of the woods?

Hard to describe the -mée part as it is not a sound found in English. I guess like -may bit without the 'y' at the ending. Not sure if I explained that well .

I think you mean the 'meh' sound.
That's how we pronounce it, too.

Think in phonics it's short 'e'.

Pronouncing it Esmay always makes me think of Des'ree that singer. Or is it Des'nee??? Oh I dunno, anyway I don't like it.

On another thread about the name Esme, some very learned person cam long and said all this stuff about French accents etc was a load of poo anyway. The name Esmee with accents does not actually get used over there at all.

But I dunno... is there a French person here who can confirm if it is a much used name over there? I know it was very common in Scotland at one time. For a boy!

I would pronounce it Es-may, but that's because I used to like that really dire Australian soap 'A Country Practice' when I was a teenager and that's how they pronounced it

Please note that in France people would assume René and Esmé were boys and Renée and Esmée were girls.

I'd say it Es-meh. I've only met 2 girls (both under 2) and I can't remember how their mums pr. it (but not like I would).

I have an Esme and we pronounce it Es-mee. She sometimes gets Ezmay but I didn't know people pronounced it that way. I have always thought it was Esmee after my gran saying she had a friend at school with that name so I thought that was the 'old' way and Ezmay is a modern take on the name.

Nah, Esmay is just people pronouncing it wrong Ali.

There are two at our Brownie pack - both are Es-me

My daughter is called Esme and we have always pronounce it Es may, I think it is the same as Andre and names like that, no accent over the final e but still pronounced ay

Es-mee (with an accent) i.e. more like Es-may

Ez-Mee, can't stand Es-May!

i liked esme but i like it es-may an after months of back an forward about spelling an pronunication we decided on it as a middle name spelt esmae .

Stop bumping Esme threads.

This instant.

Nice name but don't you find needing to have this sort of discussion puts you off?

I think Esmee sounds nice in French (Es-meh), but both Es-may and Es-mee sounds wrong to my ears.

My Esme is 15 and def is called Esme not may.

It's interesting to see this bumped thread.

We're considering Esme for DC3 due soon. I did some research that suggested the correct pn is Ez-may with the accent over the last e, from the French. It was a unisex name in France but has been regarded as female for many years now.

I much prefer the sound Ez-may to Ez-mee.

Wasn't Esme the boys version and Esmee the female one?

Ez-mee - lovely

Es-may, not sure why.

I know one Esme - she's my dd & we pronounce it Es-me.

I never even realised people pronounced it Es-me until I came on MN. To me it's Es-may.

How the Es-me pronouncers pronounce Renée, out of interest? And paté? Do they really say Ren-ee and pat-ee?!

Is there a law that Esme threads have to be bumped once a year? I've already contributed to this thread twice. Now three times. In three different namechanges. I need to come up with something new to say about Esme.