Renesmee (name)

In 2012, Meyer said "I would never name a real child Renesmee."[3] Meyer later explained on her website that she wanted a unique name for the one of a kind half human, half vampire child character she created in 2003, and no existing name seemed quite right. "Well, I couldn't call her Jennifer or Ashley," she wrote. She is now so accustomed to the name that she is only reminded it is unusual when people comment upon it.[4]

While use of the name has sometimes proven controversial, it is in regular use in English-speaking countries.[5] While the name has never ranked among the top one thousand names used for newborn girls in the United States, the name has seen steady usage for American girls since 2009, the year it was first given to five or more girls born that year. There were 165 newborn American girls given the name in 2022. Other spellings of the name in regular use in the United States include Renesmae, Renesme, Renezmae, Renesmay, Renezmay, and Ranezmae.[6] It tripled in use in the United Kingdom between 2011, the year five newborn girls in England and Wales were given the name, and 2013, when 18 newborn girls there were given the name.[7] The name continued to increase in usage and ranked among the top 1,000 names given to newborn girls in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020.[8] It has also been in occasional use for newborn girls in Canada since at least 2013.[9] Increased usage of the name in 2013 coincided with the 2012 release of the film Breaking Dawn - Part 2.[10]