Head to head · Girls' names
Esme vs Leia
#298 vs #297 in 2025 · Latin vs Hebrew roots
Leia is a whisker ahead (#297 vs #298 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leia is holding its place on the charts, Esme is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Esme has the edge.
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, Leia leads 4 measures of 6; Esme leads 2.
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, Leia — — Esme higher
- 1930s: Esme #4250, Leia — — Esme higher
- 1940s: Esme —, Leia #4235 — Leia higher
- 1950s: Esme #5673, Leia #5421 — Leia higher
- 1960s: Esme #6567, Leia #2967 — Leia higher
- 1970s: Esme #8155, Leia #2622 — Leia higher
- 1980s: Esme #8838, Leia #1429 — Leia higher
- 1990s: Esme #6277, Leia #1950 — Leia higher
- 2000s: Esme #2280, Leia #1179 — Leia higher
- 2010s: Esme #753, Leia #500 — Leia higher
- 2020s: Esme #340, Leia #274 — Leia higher
Leia stood higher in 9 of 11 decades; Leia has held the lead since the 1940s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Esme | Leia |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3187 | — |
| 1930s | #4250 | — |
| 1940s | — | #4235 |
| 1950s | #5673 | #5421 |
| 1960s | #6567 | #2967 |
| 1970s | #8155 | #2622 |
| 1980s | #8838 | #1429 |
| 1990s | #6277 | #1950 |
| 2000s | #2280 | #1179 |
| 2010s | #753 | #500 |
| 2020s | #340 | #274 |
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
Leia
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.
Leia
"weary" through Hebrew Leah; "garland, wreath" in Hawaiian
As a form of Leah, the Hebrew name in Genesis is traditionally read as "weary," with some scholars connecting it instead to an Akkadian word for cow or wild cow. Quite separately, Hawaiian leia relates to lei, a garland or wreath. Which reading applies depends entirely on which tradition a family is drawing from, and both are genuine.
Le'ah (Hebrew) → Leia (Greek, Septuagint) → Lia → Léia (Portuguese) → Leia
How it traveled
The oldest thread runs through the Hebrew name Le'ah, borne in Genesis by Jacob's first wife; when the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, it was written Λεία, and Latin and the Romance languages carried it on as Lia, with Léia established in Brazilian Portuguese. A wholly separate thread is Hawaiian, where leia belongs to the family of words around lei, the garland.
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.
Leia
LAY-ah
LAY-ah is the usual American pronunciation, following the film. LEE-ah is also heard, especially from people reading it as a version of Leah, and both are defensible — worth deciding early which one your family says.
- Lei — Informal clipping; also stands alone as a Hawaiian given name.
- Lia — Used both as a short form and as an independent given name across Italian, Portuguese and Dutch.
- Lea — Doubles as a full given name in German, French and Scandinavian records.
- Lele — Family-level nickname, mostly heard in Portuguese-speaking households.
- Also Lee.
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 that charts abroad tooEsme is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
Choose Leia if you want…
- a name holding steadyLeia is holding its place on the charts
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.
Leia
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and no silent letters — easy for a young child to write and easy to say once heard.
- Documented in Hebrew, Greek, Portuguese and Hawaiian traditions, so it is recognizable well beyond English.
- A widely known cultural reference means almost no one needs the spelling explained twice.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations, LAY-ah and LEE-ah, mean the name will occasionally be said the way you did not intend. A quick correction usually settles it, but the correcting never quite stops.
- The Star Wars association is immediate and permanent for a great many people, and it will draw comments — affectionate ones, mostly, but frequent.
- Leah, Lea, Lia and Léia are all in circulation, so forms and email addresses will sometimes come back with the wrong 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 Leia 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 Leia?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
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- The steadiest names in America
- Hawaiian names full of ocean light
- all guides
Where Esme and Leia each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Esme or Leia — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Esme or Leia?
- Leia, in 2025: Leia ranked #297 with 1,033 babies; Esme ranked #298 with 1,032 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Esme or Leia?
- Esme. Over the last five years Esme moved up 97 places; Leia moved down 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Esme or Leia?
- Esme entered the US charts in 1913; Leia entered the US charts in 1949. On the American record, Esme is the older name.
- How many people are named Esme and Leia?
- About 11,000 people named Esme are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 18,500 people named Leia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Esmes or Leias in the classroom?
- Esme will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leia 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, Leia and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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