Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2022

Esme

Meaning Anglicized spelling of French Esmé Gender Girl Rank 2025 #298 Trend ↑ Rising 42%

Anglicized spelling of French Esmé.

Rank 2025
#298
among girls · ↑45 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,032
named Esme · +14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,557
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2022
1,053 babies
All-time total
10,930
#1,577 all-time among girls
First recorded
1913
in Social Security records

Esme popularity over time

10,930 babies have been named Esme since 1913, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s 5 – 5 1 – #3,343
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 5 – 5 1 – #4,449
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 5 – 5 1 – #5,930
1960s 5 – 5 1 0% #6,856
1970s 17 – 17 2 +240% #8,302
1980s 75 – 75 8 +341% #4,595
1990s 189 – 189 19 +152% #2,951
2000s 968 – 968 97 +412% #1,063
2010s 4,092 5 4,097 410 +323% #426
2020s (to 2025) 5,559 5 5,564 927 +126% #298

Where Esme is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,103 0.69 #280
2027 1,168 0.73 #269
2028 1,226 0.76 #250
2029 1,277 0.79 #244
2030 1,322 0.82 #235

Where Esme is most popular

Girls named Esme per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.588 per 1,000. Strongest in Maine, Rhode Island, and South Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Esme born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Maine 53 3.43 +483%
Rhode Island 28 2.24 +280%
South Dakota 25 1.75 +198%
New Mexico 41 1.69 +187%
Vermont 8 1.65 +181%
District of Columbia 19 1.60 +173%
Oregon 92 1.41 +140%
Montana 19 1.40 +139%
Minnesota 151 1.40 +138%
Hawaii 16 1.40 +137%
New Hampshire 22 1.19 +103%
Massachusetts 135 1.12 +90%
Washington 160 1.11 +88%
Connecticut 63 1.08 +84%
Nebraska 38 1.06 +80%
Colorado 118 1.06 +80%
Wisconsin 106 1.03 +75%
New York 368 0.929 +58%
Arizona 126 0.898 +53%
Idaho 30 0.897 +52%
Michigan 151 0.829 +41%
Nevada 38 0.818 +39%
Pennsylvania 190 0.804 +37%
Illinois 175 0.764 +30%
California 604 0.719 +22%
Indiana 99 0.705 +20%
Oklahoma 51 0.693 +18%
Ohio 156 0.658 +12%
Virginia 112 0.657 +12%
Iowa 38 0.650 +11%
New Jersey 117 0.648 +10%
Arkansas 34 0.643 +9%
Utah 51 0.613 ≈ national
Kansas 34 0.589 ≈ national
Florida 239 0.559 -5%
Missouri 67 0.556 -5%
Kentucky 47 0.550 -7%
Delaware 6 0.529 -10%
North Carolina 116 0.509 -13%
Tennessee 78 0.492 -16%
Maryland 51 0.481 -18%
North Dakota 6 0.456 -22%
Georgia 101 0.445 -24%
Texas 350 0.435 -26%
Louisiana 37 0.423 -28%
West Virginia 11 0.420 -29%
South Carolina 35 0.389 -34%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -82%
Alabama 10 0.107 -82%
Alaska – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Esme

Esme is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #298 in 2025 with 1,032 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1913, 10,930 American babies have been named Esme. Its peak came in 2022, when 1,053 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Esme stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Esme?

The median living Esme is about 5 years old; half are between 2 and 10. An estimated 11 thousand people named Esme are alive in the United States today.

median 5 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Esme year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,032 #298 – –
2024 908 #343 – –
2023 950 #325 – –
2022 1,053 #304 – –
2021 828 #376 5 #12,716
2020 788 #395 – –
2019 745 #426 – –
2018 565 #548 – –
2017 513 #585 – –
2016 431 #682 5 #12,805
2015 419 #681 – –
2014 342 #812 – –
2013 274 #926 – –
2012 260 #975 – –
2011 263 #977 – –
2010 280 #927 – –
2009 240 #1,063 – –
2008 154 #1,512 – –
2007 106 #1,943 – –
2006 105 #1,922 – –
2005 68 #2,535 – –
2004 75 #2,314 – –
2003 76 #2,246 – –
2002 67 #2,392 – –
2001 42 #3,268 – –
2000 35 #3,684 – –
1995 18 #5,282 – –
1990 7 #10,554 – –
1985 5 #11,176 – –
1980 5 #10,863 – –
1975 6 #8,302 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Esme

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Esmée Denters Esmée Denters Dutch singer and YouTuber (born 1988) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Esme, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Esme?

The median living Esme is about 5 years old. Half of all living Esmes are between 2 and 10 years old.

How many people named Esme are alive today?

An estimated 11 thousand people named Esme are alive in the United States, based on 10,930 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Esme mean?

Anglicized spelling of French Esmé.

How popular is the name Esme in 2025?

Esme ranked #298 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,032 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Esme?

10,930 babies have been named Esme in the United States since 1913, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Esme most popular?

Esme peaked in 2022, when 1,053 newborns received the name.

Is Esme a boy or girl name?

Esme is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Esme rising or falling?

Esme is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Esme become more popular?

Esme is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,322 girls named Esme in 2030, which would rank around #235. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Esme?

Well-known people named Esme include Esmée Denters (singer).

Names like Esme

Names that sound and feel close to Esme: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Esme with similar names → More names starting with E →