Diminutive variant of Esmé, from Old French meaning 'esteemed' or 'beloved.'
Esmie is an affectionate diminutive of Esmé (also spelled Esme), a name with roots in Old French *esmé*, past participle of *esmer*: to esteem, to love. It arrived in Scotland in the 16th century via Esmé Stuart, a French-Scottish nobleman and favorite of King James VI, and took hold in Scottish families as a given name of genuine elegance. Its meaning — *esteemed, beloved* — is among the most straightforwardly beautiful in any name's etymology.
D. Salinger's 1950 short story *For Esmé — with Love and Squalor*, in which the protagonist encounters a precociously intelligent young British girl during World War II. Salinger's Esmé is unforgettable: composed, witty, achingly perceptive, and genuinely kind beneath her formal exterior.
The story cemented Esmé as a name with literary gravitas and a particular kind of old-world intelligence attached to it. It also appears in *The Baudelaire Orphans* series as the morally ambiguous Esmé Squalor, giving the name a second fictional life with sharper edges. Esmie, the diminutive spelling, softens the French formality of Esmé into something more intimate and cozy — a best-friend version of the name, domestic and warm.
It has gained traction in the UK and Australia in particular, where -ie diminutives (Rosie, Evie, Millie) have been dominant for years. Esmie manages to feel simultaneously like a nickname and a complete name — unpretentious, affectionate, and carrying centuries of good feeling in five letters.
As an Amazon Associate, NameMatch earns from qualifying purchases.