My husband and his inability to choose a perfect girl’s name (hoping for a girl next, of course:) So he swings wildly from the lovely, but rather buttoned up [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] to [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]…because I said I wanted something a little bit more unique.
What are your thoughts about [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] (besides the obvious spelling/pronunciation concerns I have), I’m just not sure I like how it LOOKS (I know, that is weird to say:)
Suggestions for a first name if we were to use it as a middle, because I do like the meaning of “[name_f]Liberty[/name_f]/[name_u]Freedom[/name_u]” and I do have an Irish background (1/8th) and took Irish dancing lessons for several years:)
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] is a long time favorite of mine! I don’t think it looks clunky at all. In my opinion, it actually looks quite pretty written out!
Some first name ideas (Irish fn):
[name_f]Eilidh[/name_f]
[name_u]Teagan[/name_u]
[name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] (love this, but it got so popular around '95 and hasn’t stopped since, with all the [name_f]Katelynn[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaytlin[/name_f]/Caytelin/[name_f]Caitlyn[/name_f]/Kaytlynn/etcs).
[name_f]Catraoine[/name_f]
[name_f]Aoife[/name_f]
[name_f]Grainne[/name_f]
Ceili
[name_f]Fiona[/name_f]
[name_f]Allsun[/name_f]
[name_f]Maeve[/name_f]
Raicheal
[name_f]Abaigeal[/name_f]
[name_f]Isibeal[/name_f]
[name_f]Mairead[/name_f]
I wasn’t sure just how Irish you wanted to get there! Haha
[name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f] would be a beautiful first name! [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], and [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] would be lovely.
Also, I was an Irish dancer as well and we’re starting our darling daughter in it!!
I love [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] and think it’s beautiful when pronounced correctly. I even think it looks cool, but I know it will be a pain in the butt to teach your kid how to spell. Her name will probably be mispelled and mispronounced throughout her life-- unless [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] becomes a big star… which is possible. There was a recent NYT article about her upcoming movie releases.
I am hopeful the name becomes familiar but not popular.
how long is your last name? it might affect the “flow”…
If you want something traditional that would sound natural with such an Irish name, I probably wouldn’t choose an Irish/Celtic/Gaelic first name because many of them end with similar “ə” sounds ([name_f]Fiona[/name_f], [name_f]Caoimhe[/name_f], [name_f]Aoife[/name_f], etc.). Also, it might be Irish overkill and certainly doesn’t avoid pronunciation issues. I would probably go with something classic and 2-3 syllables.
Thanks ladies:) I do really love the meaning, and I agree [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_m]Ronan[/name_m] is becoming more prominent, so maybe it will be more familiar:) Is Seer-sha the correct pronunciation?
The way it looks might be my favorite thing about it. I cant really explain why, I just find it visually stunning.
I say it more like sur-sha because that is the pronunciation I first learned from an old boyfriend… he was from northern [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]–maybe it varies a bit depending on accent?
I love [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] but it’s definitely challenging in the spelling/pronunciation department. I love it though. It’s no worse than something like siobhan which is widely accepted. Personally I like [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f]!
Much like the US, accents vary by location in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f]. For example, I’ve heard several Irish people pronounce the same word in at least six totally different ways. As in, each person had a different accent and said a certain word in a completely different way than the other person did.
[name_u]Ever[/name_u] hear the variations on people saying, “[name_f]Mary[/name_f] got married on a [name_f]Merry[/name_f] [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]” here in the states? In the southeast US, all are generally pronounced almost identically. I’m from the Northeast US, and all three sound VERY different. [name_f]Mary[/name_f] sounds like [name_f]Mare[/name_f]-ee. Married is pronounced with an “a” sound similar to how most Americans would say “hat.” [name_f]Merry[/name_f] sounds like the “e” in egg. You go through the US, and you’ll hear a multitude of different pronunciations of this phrase.
For the longest time, I always thought it was pronounced ‘say horse’ so that kind of turns me away from it. And the ‘aoi’ stuck straight in the middle looks slightly strange [name_f]IMO[/name_f].
I’ve heard Irish-from-[name_f]Ireland[/name_f] people say it seer-sha. And that’s my favourite pronunciation.
I think it’s gorgeous, but I’d be likelier to use it a middle I think.
I love:
[name_f]Rosemary[/name_f] [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
[name_f]Kathleen[/name_f] [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] or [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f] [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessamy[/name_f] [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
As a first I like:
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_f]Eireen[/name_f] (freedom, peace)
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]
[name_f]Saoirse[/name_f] [name_f]Roisin[/name_f]
