[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]. I am infatuated with this name. It sounds both strong and sleek at the same time, speaks to my (future) daughter’s heritage etc. If you have seen the animated Song Of The Sea, it only adds to this name’s fantasticness.
I am usually a very strong proponent of being as authentic as possible with a name. I have always felt that it is important to honor the heritage and culture of a name, rather than just to appropriate it for whatever use. I know many disagree with me and I’m fine with that and don’t spend a lot of time losing sleep over what others do but for myself I would never willynilly grab a name to use without first trying to understand it’s background etc.
However this name poses a real dilemma for me. Sigh, the spelling. In the U.S. It’s just an atrocious translation. I am for the first time ever considering changing the spelling of this name to something phonetic. But this sits uncomfortably with me as well.
I know I can’t be the only one who has struggle with this. It’s a wonderful name that is thisclose to being crossed off the list because I can’t resolve my issues with the spelling.
Hmmm. I feel like since the fame of the actress Saoirse Ronan, this name is far more familiar to many people than it would have been 10 years ago. (For example, I don’t think it is nearly as obscure as Sadhbh, Caoimhe or Eithne). Plus I feel like names can be an opportunity to introduce new names to communities and educate people. In reality, Sean and Cerys are just as non-instinctive, but enough people used the name with the Irish and Welsh spellings that now they present fewer issues.
However, while I’m with you on preferring authentic spellings, I don’t think there is anything egregious in choosing an English phoenetic spelling like Seersha, Sairsha or Cirsha. Even in Ireland, such spelling are not unheard of, e.g. even in Ireland, some people use Keeva instead of Caoimhe.
I’ve mentioned it before that I believe tricky spellings and pronunciations can have an actual negative impact on a person’s life — other people are embarrassed to get it wrong, and that can subconsciously lead to getting called on less often in class, getting called back less often for jobs, etc.
However, I think [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is right on the cusp of becoming known enough in the U.S. that it’s very usable. I keep seeing it come up (and not just on Nameberry). It’s easier to learn than many Gaelic names because there are no extraneous consonants to trip up English speakers. Honestly, it becomes a much less appealing name to me if it’s spelled out phonetically, and from what you’re saying it seems like a compromise isn’t a good idea — either it’s worth the trouble, or it’s one to let go.
I had no idea how to say this name and had to look it up. It is not intuitive at all for those who are unfamiliar Irish pronunciation. I am familiar with some, but still couldn’t get it right. I’m not opposed to changing “foreign” names for better understanding and pronunciation. It is something that my husband and I also have to figure out when making our arabic name list. As is, people will have a tough time with it, but will eventually get it if they want to. However if you don’t think you can deal with a lifetime of mistakes, use an alternative spelling like Sirsha. [name_f]Remember[/name_f] though, that even if you make it easy on people, they still won’t get it right. My name is [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] and people all the time are saying “[name_u]Brit[/name_u]-tawn-ee”. If you love it, use it
