Esme
Girl name · #298 in 2025 · Distinctive
Esme ranks #298 among American girls' names as of 2025, with 1,032 newborns given the name that year. A decade ago it stood at #680, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 1,744 girls born in 2025 was named Esme.
The 112-year story
Esme first appears in the Social Security records in 1913, when 5 girls received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2022, with 1,053 babies and a rank of #304. Names at their peak can keep climbing — or be one trend cycle from the long slide that eventually hits most popular names. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Babies named Esme per year. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Esme against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Esme in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Esme is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "distinctive". That middle band is the sweet spot many parents hunt for: recognizable without being everywhere.
Where Esme is most common
Geography matters for names, and Esme is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Esme is most common in OR (1.6 per 1,000), MA (1.4 per 1,000), MN (1.4 per 1,000), WA (1.2 per 1,000), CO (1.2 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 0.8 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Esme is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Names like Esme
Statistically, parents drawn to Esme tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Evie, Elodie, Blake, Emory, and Elora.
EvieElodieBlakeEmoryEloraEmerieOliveZuri
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Esme | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,032 | #298 |
| 2024 | 908 | #343 |
| 2023 | 950 | #325 |
| 2022 | 1,053 | #304 |
| 2021 | 828 | #376 |
| 2020 | 788 | #395 |
| 2019 | 745 | #426 |
| 2018 | 565 | #547 |
| 2017 | 513 | #585 |
| 2016 | 431 | #682 |
| 2015 | 419 | #680 |
| 2014 | 342 | #812 |
| 2013 | 274 | #926 |
| 2012 | 260 | #975 |
| 2011 | 263 | #975 |
| 2010 | 280 | #925 |
| 2009 | 240 | #1063 |
| 2008 | 154 | #1508 |
| 2007 | 106 | #1940 |
| 2006 | 105 | #1918 |
| 2005 | 68 | #2524 |
| 2004 | 75 | #2309 |
| 2003 | 76 | #2243 |
| 2002 | 67 | #2379 |
| 2001 | 42 | #3256 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Esme a popular girl name?
Esme ranked #298 among girls in 2025 with 1,032 babies given the name — inside the top 500: established but not ubiquitous. Ten years earlier it ranked #680.
When was the name Esme most popular?
Esme peaked in 2022, when 1,053 American girls received the name (ranked #304 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Esme?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 1,744 newborn American girls was named Esme. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "distinctive".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.