Where did the baby name Renesmee come from in 2009?

The character Renesmee Cullen from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (2016).
Renesmee from “Breaking Dawn – Part 2

Stephenie Meyer’s four Twilight books (published yearly from 2005 from 2008) chronicled the romance of teenager Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen. The books proved so popular that were turned into a series of five films (released yearly from 2008 to 2012).

In the world of Twilight, Renesmee is the half-human, half-vampire child of Bella and Edward. She was born in the middle of the final book of the series, Breaking Dawn (2008). On the big screen, Renesmee’s birth was depicted in the fourth film, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011).

According to Bella herself, the name is pronounced “Ruh-nez-may.” It’s a combination of Renée (the name of Bella’s mother) and Esme (the name of Edward’s adoptive mother).

The first real-life Renesmee I spotted was born in Scotland in 2009. But in mid-2010, when the SSA’s 2009 data was released, we all discovered that more than a dozen U.S. baby girls had been named Renesmee the same year:

  • 2021: 161 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2020: 155 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2019: 143 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2018: 147 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2017: 129 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2016: 154 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2015: 129 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2014: 135 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2013: 135 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2012: 60 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2011: 33 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2010: 47 baby girls named Renesmee
  • 2009: 18 baby girls named Renesmee [debut]
  • 2008: unlisted

Total count so far? 1,446.

The name has never cracked the girls’ top 1,000, but usage remains weirdly strong (given the fact that the Twilight craze has passed), so perhaps it will in the future.

That jump in the usage between 2012 and 2013 was due to the final movie of the series, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012), in which Renesmee was a young child (as opposed to a newborn).

But that’s not all. A slew of Renesmee variants have cropped up over the years:

Putting all the various spellings together, the grand total is well over than 2,300.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Renesmee?

P.S. The French names Renée and Esmé mean “born again” and “loved,” respectively.

Sources: Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Screenshot of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)

[Latest update: April 2023]

22 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Renesmee come from in 2009?

  1. I think Renesmee is an awful name for a child, it’s ok for like a pet cat or a goldfish, but not your kid!

  2. I have a beautiful granddaughter who is 2 and her name is Renesmee RayeLynn AnnaLee and I call her renneraye for short. I don’t have a problem with the name and I haven’t watched any of the twilight sagas.

  3. I absolutely LOVE the name Renesme (I like it better with one E at the end though!) I am only 18 but I am dead set on naming my first daughter Renesme. It is honestly the most gorgeous name I have ever heard, and I think that a lot of people hating on the name are doing so only because it was created for Twilight. Now don’t get me wrong I am a huge Twilight fan, but that is not at all why I want to name my daughter that, it is just such a beautiful name. I also want to name my son Emmett, but not at all because of Twilight, I just so happen to like that name.

  4. I really love the name Renesmee I think it is unusual. I will call my daughter Renesmee and not because of twilight but because it is so different. Id much rather hear more names like this, rather than Daisy-may and other boring names of this nature.

  5. I do like the name Renesmee. I can understand some concerns people may have, but it literally is just Renee and Esme put together which I think works beautifully. And after all the parents are the deciders.

  6. I love the name Renesmee and I have a 14 year old named Edward, a 2 year old Jacob and a little girl on the way who will be named Renesmee. I wanted Isabella but my husband wouldn’t go for it. Therefore Renesmee it will be. No, I’m not a teenager, I’m almost 40 years old and I love those names.

  7. I have 2 daughters one named Kirstyn Laurena after my sisters Kirsty and Lauren. My second Juliet Esme simply because I liked the names. I saw Esme in the first Twilight film and thought it sounded really pretty and unique. I don’t mind that people will associate my daughters middle name with Twilight and I think Renesmee is quite cool and treny although not for me. If I do have another child which is doubtful as I did only want two then their name would be Caleb for a boy the name I’ve always wanted for a boy or Quinn for a girl as I love Glee. Caleb Joshua and Quinn Elise.

  8. Everyone in the book makes fun of the name constantly. Why would you want to name your kid something that the book itself makes fun of?

  9. Our 2yo is Bella Rue Renesmee. We are Italian, our other daughters have two middle names as well we chose from pop culture at time of birth. Our oldest’s second middle is Rowling (JK) and the next was tagged with Trinity (Matrix and Blade…it was also the 3rd name of our 3rd child I had to lol)…and unless being yelled at no one hears them. It is a family thing…Rue btw is from the Hunger Games but I have never regretted it, and idk maybe b/c she bites it fits. Incidentally, it all fits on her social security card. Ciao!

  10. I’m a hiring agent for a company and I know if I saw something with a Twilight name, that would hurt them right off the bat. Believe it or not, names matter more than you think. It would never stand in the way of hiring someone truly qualified, but, say…two people applied for the job. They were equally qualified and their demeanor is equally pleasant. Most of the time in situations like this, the person with a “unique” name doesn’t get hired. It happens more often than you’d think.

  11. Renesmee is a beatiful name…..
    But we sould not provide this names to babies
    we can give this name to our Pets….

  12. Friend of mine just named one of their twins Renesmee.

    I do have to add, that the father already has 3 daughters all named after Disney Princesses.

  13. While I probably wouldn’t name my daughter Renesmee, I actually think it’s a kind of pretty name. It’s definitely not the weirdest thing people have named their child, like Hashtag, or a person I saw on Yahoo Answers who suggested Bookcase-Jade

  14. Renesmee is the name of my daughter whom I found out I was pregnant with after going to see Breaking Dawn Part Two with my eldest daughter Brooke who was sixteen at the time and my niece Rowan who was eighteen. Brooke actually came up with the idea when I declared I was fresh out of name s and nothing sounded good to me. I have nine children in total so you can see my predicament. I don’t regret naming my daughter Renesmee I believe her name fits well with her siblings… Brooklyn, Ophelia, Isolde, Verity, Lachlan, Joaquin, Solaris and Griffith.

  15. I personally don’t really watch twilight movies. I am going to use it as a middle name for my daughter because of the fact that I like the whole concept of putting Rene and Esmee together meaning reborn and loved. For someone who had a previous miscarriage that’s a beautiful name beautiful meaning and will be explained to my daughter.

  16. I love the name Renesmee and my husband as well. I also love the name Roseline but my husband dont like it as a first name. My mom made my name 27 years ago out of family names. Widene. Me and my husband decided we are going 2 call our daugter Wineschmé (say it as Winesmee) Roseline Taljaard.

  17. I’ve got two things to say:

    1.) Naming your daughter Renesmee is arguably the dumbest thing you can do for your kid. Not only would it cause them to be ridiculed at school but no one would hire them anywhere.

    2.) I’m upset I’m not a lawyer, since in a few years they’ll make a small killing from all the kids looking to legally change their name.

  18. My two year old Granddaughter is called Renesmee.
    I love the name. It suits her.
    She gets called many names from the name Renesmee.

  19. My 5 month old daughter is named Renesmee and I love her name not because it’s from twilight but because I think it’s pretty her brother and sister lover her name too I just have one thing that’s irritating me and that is people saying that the people named renesmee won’t get employed in later life! Well if you don’t hire a person just because they have a unusual name you are a pretty sad and pathetic employer!!

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