Head to head · Girls' names
Esme vs Evelynn
#298 vs #301 in 2025
Esme is a whisker ahead (#298 vs #301 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Esme is climbing the charts fast, Evelynn is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Esme leads 5 measures of 6; Evelynn leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Esme #3187, Evelynn #2465 — Evelynn higher
- 1920s: Esme —, Evelynn #2118 — Evelynn higher
- 1930s: Esme #4250, Evelynn #2500 — Evelynn higher
- 1940s: Esme —, Evelynn #2303 — Evelynn higher
- 1950s: Esme #5673, Evelynn #3114 — Evelynn higher
- 1960s: Esme #6567, Evelynn #4243 — Evelynn higher
- 1970s: Esme #8155, Evelynn #6274 — Evelynn higher
- 1980s: Esme #8838, Evelynn #5590 — Evelynn higher
- 1990s: Esme #6277, Evelynn #4128 — Evelynn higher
- 2000s: Esme #2280, Evelynn #1525 — Evelynn higher
- 2010s: Esme #753, Evelynn #465 — Evelynn higher
- 2020s: Esme #340, Evelynn #317 — Evelynn higher
Evelynn stood higher in every recorded decade — 12 of 12.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Esme | Evelynn |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3187 | #2465 |
| 1920s | — | #2118 |
| 1930s | #4250 | #2500 |
| 1940s | — | #2303 |
| 1950s | #5673 | #3114 |
| 1960s | #6567 | #4243 |
| 1970s | #8155 | #6274 |
| 1980s | #8838 | #5590 |
| 1990s | #6277 | #4128 |
| 2000s | #2280 | #1525 |
| 2010s | #753 | #465 |
| 2020s | #340 | #317 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Esme
- Scotland#38
- England & Wales#51
Evelynn
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Esme
esteemed, loved
From the Old French participle esmé, from esmer "to esteem, to value" (ultimately Latin aestimare). Both glosses — "esteemed" and "loved" — are standard.
aestimare (Latin) → esmer / esmé (Old French) → Esmé → Esme
How it traveled
The word came first: esmé, the past participle of Old French esmer, a verb of valuing and esteeming descended from Latin aestimare. As a personal name it appears in French and then Scottish aristocratic use from the sixteenth century, worn by men as often as women — Esmé Stuart, 1st Duke of Lennox, is the best-documented early bearer.
Evelynn
Not established
What is documented is the chain, not the sense: the name descends from Aveline, a Norman French diminutive built on the Germanic element avi-, whose meaning has never been settled. Two associations circulate anyway — French aveline, 'hazelnut', and the biblical Eve, 'life' — and neither is the actual source. So the pleasure here is the history rather than a translation.
Aveline → Eveline → Evelyn → Evelynn
How it traveled
Aveline arrived in England with Norman French speakers after 1066 and settled in as both a given name and, in time, the family name Evelyn. From the seventeenth century onward the surname was handed back as a first name, and in Britain it was given to boys as well as girls for a long stretch — the writer's name and the soldier's name as much as the debutante's.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Esme
EZ-may
EZ-may is the usual American reading; EZ-mee is common in Britain and heard here too. Both are correct, so it helps to pick one and repeat it early. The stress stays on the first syllable either way.
- Es — The plainest informal clip, used within families more than on paper.
- Essie — An affectionate form that also stands alone as a given name, reaching it independently through Esther and Estelle.
- Ezzie — Informal, follows the EZ- pronunciation rather than the spelling.
- Mimi — An occasional family pet form rather than a standard short form.
Evelynn
EV-uh-lin
Three syllables, stress on the first. Some speakers, particularly in Britain, compress it to EEV-lin. The doubled n changes nothing about how it is said.
- Evie — The most common short form across the whole Evelyn family; also given as a standalone name in its own right.
- Eve — Informal in this context, though it is a full given name with its own long record.
- Lynn — Draws on the ending rather than the front; a given name in its own right, strongly represented among older generations.
- Ev — Brisk, mostly family and close-friend use.
- Also Evvie, Lynnie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Esme if you want…
- a name on the way upup 97 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesEsme is 2 syllables to Evelynn's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooEsme is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
Choose Evelynn if you want…
- a name holding steadyEvelynn is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itEvelynn runs 3 syllables, Esme 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Evie, Eve and Lynn
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Esme
Strengths
- Already short — no shortening required, though Es and Essie are there if wanted.
- A documented line running back through sixteenth-century Scotland and France to an Old French word, unbroken since.
- Charts in Scotland and in England and Wales as well as the US, so it reads as a name rather than a puzzle across the English-speaking world.
To consider
- The two pronunciations, EZ-may and EZ-mee, both have real standing. Expect to correct people occasionally for life — mildly, not constantly.
- The accent is a decision: Esmé is the older French form, Esme the plainer one. US forms and databases handle bare Esme more gracefully.
- Esme Cullen of the Twilight novels is the association many adults will reach for first. It fades with each year, but it is worth knowing it is there.
Evelynn
Strengths
- Sounds like a name everyone already knows, so it is never explained aloud — only in writing.
- Comes with ready-made short forms: Evie, Eve, Lynn, all in real use for centuries.
- Has close relatives in French, Italian, Dutch, German and Spanish, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- Evelyn is the default spelling, and this one will be corrected to it for life — on forms, coffee cups, class lists. Worth deciding now whether you are happy to spell it out every time.
- Because the sound is widely shared, she may well be one of several Evelyns by ear in a classroom while being the only one with this spelling. Unique on paper, familiar in the air.
- Evelynn is also the name of a character in the game League of Legends, spelled exactly this way — a small association, but one some people will mention.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Esme and Evelynn in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- French names with effortless chic
- Valentine names with love in them
- Under the radar: quietly excellent picks
- Names far more common than their rank admits
- all guides
Where Esme and Evelynn each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Esme or Evelynn — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Esme or Evelynn?
- Esme, in 2025: Esme ranked #298 with 1,032 babies; Evelynn ranked #301 with 1,012 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Esme or Evelynn?
- Esme. Over the last five years Esme moved up 97 places; Evelynn moved up 27 places.
- Which is the older name, Esme or Evelynn?
- Esme entered the US charts in 1913; Evelynn entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Esme is the older name.
- How many people are named Esme and Evelynn?
- About 11,000 people named Esme are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 15,500 people named Evelynn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Esmes or Evelynns in the classroom?
- Esme will almost certainly be the only one in school. Evelynn will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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