| Esmeray | Yildiz | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | dark moon | Star |
| Origin | turkish | turkish |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ES-meh-ray | yil-DUZ |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2025 (157) | 2022 (5) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Trend | Steady | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Esmeray | Yildiz |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 394 | 15 |
| 2010s | 11 | 0 |
From Turkish 'esmer' meaning 'dark, brunette' and 'ay' meaning 'moon', giving 'dark moon'. (A 'sunbeam/beloved' reading circulates but does not fit the Turkish elements and appears to be a folk reinterpretation.)
The Turkish word 'yildiz' ('star'). The same word was later applied (as 'Yildun') to a star in Ursa Minor, but as a given name it simply means 'star'.
Esmeray and Yildiz are given to a similar number of US babies today.
Esmeray means dark moon (turkish origin), while Yildiz means Star (turkish origin).
In US records, Esmeray first appears in 0 and Yildiz in 0, so Esmeray has the longer recorded history.