Variant of Esme, from Old French esmer meaning 'to esteem,' ultimately linked to Persian Esma meaning 'beloved.'
Esmae is a softened, modernized spelling of Esmé, a name with roots in the Old French verb esmer, meaning "to esteem" or "to love." Some scholars also trace a parallel thread to the Persian word for emerald, lending the name a gemlike quality that feels both ancient and luminous. It arrived in Scotland in the sixteenth century through Esmé Stuart, First Duke of Lennox and a favorite of King James VI, giving the name an aristocratic Scottish pedigree that lingered for centuries.
D. Salinger published his haunting short story "For Esmé—with Love and Squalor," in which a precocious, dignified young English girl named Esmé offers a wounded American soldier a rare moment of human grace. That story fixed the name in the literary imagination as something simultaneously childlike and ancient-souled.
It also appears in Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" as the glamorous, villainous Esmé Squalor—a winking homage to Salinger. The spelling Esmae, with its softened final e made explicit, has grown in popularity as parents seek names that feel vintage yet fresh. It sits comfortably alongside names like Ottilie and Isadora on the modern revival list, prized for its Continental elegance and its whispered, two-syllable rhythm that feels intimate and unhurried.