| Esperance | Clemence | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | hope | Mercy |
| Origin | french | French |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | es-peh-RAHNS | kleh-MAHNS |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1886 |
| Peak year | 2025 (8) | 1917 (20) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 9 |
| Trend | Steady | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Esperance | Clemence |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 23 | 42 |
| 2010s | 0 | 60 |
| 2000s | 0 | 16 |
| 1990s | 0 | 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 6 |
| 1930s | 0 | 25 |
| 1920s | 5 | 94 |
| 1910s | 5 | 126 |
| 1900s | 0 | 90 |
| 1890s | 0 | 73 |
| 1880s | 0 | 11 |
A French (and Old French) name meaning 'hope', from Latin 'sperantia' / 'sperare' ('to hope'). It also saw some medieval English use as a virtue name.
Clémence comes from the Latin for “mercy” or “clemency.”
Clemence is more popular than Esperance today: about 9 US babies were given the name Clemence in 2025, compared with 0 named Esperance.
Esperance means hope (french origin), while Clemence means Mercy (French origin).
In US records, Esperance first appears in 0 and Clemence in 1886, so Esperance has the longer recorded history.