Esmae is a modern spelling of Esme, which comes from the Old French esmé and means "esteemed" or "beloved". Esme was first a boys' name in Scotland, became a girls' favorite in Britain and reached American ears through J. D. Salinger's story For Esmé, with Love and Squalor and the Twilight novels. The Esmae spelling has never made the US top 1000, climbing from number 2899 in 2015 to number 1369 in 2022 and ranking 1445 in 2025.