not pregnant but can i use saoirse even though i’m only a very small part partially irish i love the name and i love the song of the sea… just thinking.
Yes. If you can spell it and pronounce it correctly, then i think it is fine. Saoirse Ronan doesn’t even pronounce her name correctly.
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With a good chunk of [name_u]Irish[/name_u] names I’d say yes but because [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] has very specific cultural significance to the [name_u]Irish[/name_u] it’s definitely a no from me. Also, and I say this as respectfully as I can, if you didn’t even know it’s original origin then I think that makes my answer an even bigger no
If you really love it that much than maybe [name_f]Sorcha[/name_f], Sira or [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] could be good alternatives
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your post originally said that you thought saoirse was irish/scottish and i thought you also said you weren’t irish or scottish at all?
either way, my answer is no for the same reasons night gave. saoirse was used in ireland following the irish war of independence. if you know anything about irish history, you’d know the hardships that the irish faced for hundreds of years that only came to a conclusion during the irish war of independence. saoirse, meaning liberty, is very culturally significant to the irish because of this.
so no, i do not believe it is right for anyone who is not irish (i would say, significantly so or with ties to the culture) to use.
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I generally err on the side of ‘no’ for [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] without any connection to its history. Excellent posts above mine detail why.
Seconding @leafygreens and @venezio who’ve explained it well
Agreed
I say yes. I’m not jealous of anyone using my country’s traditional names (and we were slaves for 300 years, so we have had hardships), and since there’s now a celebrity with that name aswell - absolutely.
Honestly the average Irish person isn’t going to care about the idea of somebody living thousands of miles away using an Irish name.
I would be concerned, however, about non-Irish people not having a clue how to pronounce it, given the ignorant comments that Saoirse Ronan has to deal with.
It also might be strange to have a name that’s so strongly associated with Irish culture if you’re not. I’d compare it to being called “Italia” if you’re not Italian and you have no affiliation with Italian-speaking culture.
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[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is gorgeous!
However I would say as someone with a dad who is a proud Irishman and overall family have faced tons of discrimination for being [name_u]Irish[/name_u] Catholic + belonging to the traveller community you shouldn’t use the name. [name_f]My[/name_f] dad was born in [name_u]Scotland[/name_u] to an [name_u]Irish[/name_u] mother and a Scottish father who had [name_u]Irish[/name_u] parents. However being a traveller he lived all over Ireland/Scotland/Northern [name_u]England[/name_u]. [name_u]Scotland[/name_u] has a long history involving sectarianism but dad also faced discrimination when living in [name_u]England[/name_u] as well. Certain things conjure up such strong [name_u]Irish[/name_u] pride and symbolise such large cultural statements. [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is one of these symbols she’s full of national pride for the [name_u]Irish[/name_u] people and symbolises liberty. I have relatives with this name and they were given the name [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] because of the symbolism behind that choice. It’s a bold name to carry and even though I have an [name_u]Irish[/name_u] family I wouldn’t bestow this name onto a child. I think if you have no understanding of [name_u]Ireland[/name_u] and its history along with no connection then it’s a big no from me unfortunately. [name_f]Sorcha[/name_f] or [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] would be good alternatives.
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i would say no, for reasons detailed above better than i could explain !! i would class saoirse separately from other irish names on account of its history of use and cultural weight. maybe you’ll like the similar sorcha (prn. sor-kha), or even something like sorscha ? they sound similar but don’t have specific cultural relevance.
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