Esmond
Of Old English origin, meaning "grace" or "prosperous protection."
Name Census estimates that about 299 living Americans carry the first name Esmond. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Esmond today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esmond births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esmond. 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.
People living today
299
~ 1 in 1,146,336 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,171
Tracked since 1907
Popularity
Esmond: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esmond from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 76 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Esmond remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esmond 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 Esmond during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Esmonds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Esmond
The name Esmond is an English given name derived from the Old English words "es" meaning god and "mund" meaning protection or guardian. It was originally found among the Anglo-Saxons and was a common name during the Middle Ages in England.
The earliest recorded usage of the name Esmond dates back to the 11th century, appearing in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Esmond de Beaumont, a Norman nobleman who fought alongside William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Esmond was popular among the English nobility and aristocracy. One notable figure was Sir Esmond de Lisle (c. 1285-1347), a renowned English knight and military commander who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War against France.
During the Renaissance period, the name Esmond continued to be used, particularly among the English gentry and landed families. One noteworthy individual was Esmond de Burton (c. 1460-1528), an English soldier and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII.
In the 17th century, the name Esmond gained literary significance through the character of Henry Esmond, the protagonist of the historical novel "The History of Henry Esmond" written by William Makepeace Thackeray and published in 1852. The novel popularized the name and contributed to its continued use in England.
Other notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Esmond include Esmond Romilly (1918-1944), a British Special Operations Executive agent who was executed by the Nazis during World War II for his role in the French Resistance. Esmond Knight (1906-1987) was an English actor and writer best known for his roles in films such as "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "The Winslow Boy."
While the name Esmond has its roots in Old English and was particularly prevalent among the English aristocracy and gentry in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, it continues to be used as a given name, albeit less commonly, in modern times.
People
Esmond + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esmond 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
Esmond: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esmond?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 299 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esmond 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 1,146,336 US residents.
Is Esmond a common name?
We classify Esmond as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 500 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esmond most popular?
The single biggest year for Esmond was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esmond is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Esmond a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Esmond in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.