Head to head · Girls' names
Esme vs Evie
#298 vs #270 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Evie is ahead (#270 vs #298 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Evie leads 5 measures of 6; Esme 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
- 1880s: Esme —, Evie #351 — Evie higher
- 1890s: Esme —, Evie #350 — Evie higher
- 1900s: Esme —, Evie #401 — Evie higher
- 1910s: Esme #3187, Evie #583 — Evie higher
- 1920s: Esme —, Evie #800 — Evie higher
- 1930s: Esme #4250, Evie #956 — Evie higher
- 1940s: Esme —, Evie #1148 — Evie higher
- 1950s: Esme #5673, Evie #1471 — Evie higher
- 1960s: Esme #6567, Evie #2021 — Evie higher
- 1970s: Esme #8155, Evie #2712 — Evie higher
- 1980s: Esme #8838, Evie #2989 — Evie higher
- 1990s: Esme #6277, Evie #3633 — Evie higher
- 2000s: Esme #2280, Evie #1443 — Evie higher
- 2010s: Esme #753, Evie #493 — Evie higher
- 2020s: Esme #340, Evie #284 — Evie higher
Evie stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Esme | Evie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #351 |
| 1890s | — | #350 |
| 1900s | — | #401 |
| 1910s | #3187 | #583 |
| 1920s | — | #800 |
| 1930s | #4250 | #956 |
| 1940s | — | #1148 |
| 1950s | #5673 | #1471 |
| 1960s | #6567 | #2021 |
| 1970s | #8155 | #2712 |
| 1980s | #8838 | #2989 |
| 1990s | #6277 | #3633 |
| 2000s | #2280 | #1443 |
| 2010s | #753 | #493 |
| 2020s | #340 | #284 |
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
Evie
- Scotland#18
- England & Wales#29
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.
Evie
"Life" or "living," through Eve
Evie is a pet form, and its meaning depends on which name stands behind it. Through Eve — Hebrew Chavvah — it carries the sense of life or living. Through Evelyn it goes back to the Norman French Aveline, whose own root is not settled; through Genevieve it reaches an Old Germanic compound that scholars still argue over. Used on its own, most parents take the Eve reading.
Chavvah → Eua → Eva → Eve → Evie
How it traveled
Chavvah in Hebrew became Eua in the Greek of the Septuagint and Eva in the Latin Vulgate, which is how the name reached medieval Europe. English took it as Eve, and English speakers did to it what they do to most short names — added the -ie ending, the same one that turns Anne into Annie and Margaret into Maggie.
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.
Evie
EE-vee
Two syllables, stress on the first. A short-e opening — EV-ee — turns up occasionally in families where it stands in for Evelyn, but EE-vee is the standard reading in both American and British use.
- Eve — The parent name; used as the formal alternative on documents by families who register Evie in full.
- Ev — A clipped, informal form heard mostly at home or among close friends.
- Evs — Playground and sibling usage; rarely written down.
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 fewer children share#298 in 2025 — esme will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 97 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalEsme entered the US charts in 1913
Choose Evie if you want…
- a name most people already know#270 in 2025, 1,151 babies that year
- a long American recordEvie was already in use when US records began in 1880
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.
Evie
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and spelled the way it sounds — most people get it right on first hearing.
- Works either as a full given name or as the short form of Eve, Eva, Evelyn or Genevieve, so it can be grown into or out of.
- Established on the charts in England, Wales and Scotland as well as the United States, so it travels without explanation in English-speaking countries.
To consider
- The spelling competes with Evy, Evee and Eevee — the last being a well-known Pokémon, which some children will bring up. Evie is the majority spelling, but expect to confirm it now and then.
- It sits in a crowded sound-family: Ava, Eva, Evelyn, Ivy and Eden are all in wide use, and mishearings between them are common on the phone.
- The name is climbing, and steadily. A child born now may meet more Evies at fifteen than at five, even though she is unlikely to share a classroom with one.
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 Evie 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
Still torn between Esme and Evie?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- Names ending in -ie
- all guides
Where Esme and Evie each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Esme or Evie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Esme or Evie?
- Evie, in 2025: Evie ranked #270 with 1,151 babies; Esme ranked #298 with 1,032 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Esme or Evie?
- Esme. Over the last five years Esme moved up 97 places; Evie moved up 49 places.
- Which is the older name, Esme or Evie?
- Esme entered the US charts in 1913; Evie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Evie is the older name.
- How many people are named Esme and Evie?
- About 11,000 people named Esme are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Evie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Esmes or Evies in the classroom?
- Esme will almost certainly be the only one in school. Evie 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Esme, Evie and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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