Esmay
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly a variant of Esme.
Name Census estimates that about 264 living Americans carry the first name Esmay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Esmay today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esmay births was 2020 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esmay. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Esmay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
264
~ 1 in 1,298,312 Americans
Peak year
2020
35 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,217
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Esmay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esmay from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 140 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esmay by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Esmay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Esmays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Esmay
The name Esmay is a relatively uncommon given name with roots that can be traced back to the late 19th century. It is believed to have originated as a variant of the English name Esme, which is itself derived from the Old French name Esmée or Esmé. The name Esmée is thought to have been formed from the Germanic elements "est" meaning "grace" and "maia" meaning "pearl".
While the name Esmay does not appear to have any direct historical references or connections to ancient texts or religious scriptures, the earliest recorded examples of its use as a given name date back to the late 1800s. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Esmay was Esmay Van de Casteele, a Belgian artist born in 1885 who was known for her portraits and landscapes.
Another notable bearer of the name was Esmay Ingram, an American journalist and author born in 1892. She wrote several books on social issues and was a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century.
In the field of literature, Esmay Garnett was a British translator and writer born in 1888. She was best known for her translations of works by Russian authors like Dostoevsky and Chekhov.
The name Esmay also has historical connections to the world of sports. Esmay Cook was a British athlete born in 1904 who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, where she won a silver medal in the 4x100m relay.
Lastly, Esmay Elizabeth Moore was an American educator and school administrator born in 1881. She served as the principal of several schools in California and was recognized for her contributions to education in the early 20th century.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples provide a glimpse into the historical usage of the name Esmay and its bearers from various walks of life, spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
People
Esmay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esmay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Esmay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esmay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esmay going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,298,312 US residents.
Is Esmay a common name?
We classify Esmay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 266 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esmay most popular?
The single biggest year for Esmay was 2020, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esmay is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Esmay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esmay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esmay in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Esmay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esmay in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Esmay can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Esmay?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Esmay at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.