I’m in [name]LOVE[/name] with the name [name]Saoirse[/name] (pronounced sare - sha). I love how the name looks as well, but I’m really worried that I’d be condemning my future child to a life of pronouncing and spelling her name for everyone. This has been my #1 name choice for a while now and my husband loves it also but I can already see my relatives raising their eyebrows at this choice - any suggestions? I don’t know what to do and the baby is due pretty soon. Any help would be great!
As someone who has a dear friend named [name]Siobhan[/name], I say if you love it, go for it. People shouldn’t have trouble saying it, but they might never be able to spell it. But screw it, you’d be surprised how many people can’t spell [name]Melissa[/name], for crying out loud. [name]Saoirse[/name] is lovely.
[name]Saoirse[/name] is a beautiful name, and if you love it, you should use it. If you family likes it, that’s great, but if they don’t, they’ll get over it. 
That said, I think it’s fair to say that she (and you) will indeed have to explain to most people how her name is pronounced. Seeing it in print, I think it’s reasonable to assume that if someone isn’t familiar with Irish names, he or she will likely mispronounce it as “[name]Say[/name]-ors,” “Sow-ear-sie,” or as other nifty oopsies. If this doesn’t bother you, and you have the patience to deal with it, than go for it! [name]Saoirse[/name] is lovely.
If it bothers you too much, however, to deal with people saying it incorrectly, how about using it for a middle name?
[name]Rowan[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Rory[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Finola[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Fiona[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Teagan[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Megan[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Ruby[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Maeve[/name] Saorise
[name]Lily[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Aveline[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Delaney[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Bronwyn[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Tamsin[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Ainsley[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Gwendolyn[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Rhiannon[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Rowena[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Wendolyn[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Wynn[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Tatum[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
[name]Margaret[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name]
Best wishes to you!
Wow [name]Jill[/name], I love your suggestions! I just wanted to add [name]Tierney[/name] and [name]Avalon[/name], I really like those names!
Thanks, OverwhelmedMomma. [name]Tierney[/name] and [name]Avalon[/name] are great, too!
[name]Bronwyn[/name] [name]Saoirse[/name] is amazing”I just love it!
[name]Saoirse[/name] has a few problems for me. The first is the obvious: the pronunciation, it’s non-intuitive.
The second is the politically charged history of the name - its meaning of ‘freedom’ means that it has been used in [name]Ireland[/name] by the Republicans as a slogan in support of separation from the UK. It’s also the name of Republican Sinn Fein’s newspaper. In the past it has very much been used as a statement of affiliation as well as name. As someone who has no strong feelings in support of either side, I consider it to be a name that comes with baggage that isn’t to do with anything I feel strongly about.
You may like [name]Sorcha[/name] (sor-ka/sor-a-ka), [name]Sadhbh[/name] (siev), [name]Saraid[/name] (sor-id), Siofra (shee-fra) or [name]Sinead[/name] (shin-aid).
I love [name]Saoirse[/name] - I think I would use it for a middle name. Since my family is Irish, I would have no problems from them with pronunciation. In real life, I have heard it pronounched “seer - sha.” I think my brother is going to use it though! I actually love the meaning of freedom. I also have a really good friend [name]Siobhan[/name] and after the beginning first day of school stuff, everyone caught on. hope this helps. I love it!
Speak to someone who has the name if you can. I personally had NO idea how it was pronounced (w/ little of what I know about Irish names, I would have pron; it Sore-sha)… It’s not that I’m ignorant, it’s just in a different tongue. My dh worked with a [name]Siobhan[/name]. She loved the spelling and didn’t mind correcting people on the pronounciation. So, that’s one plus… you AND dh both love the name, there’s another plus.
As for the pp replying how come people can’t even figure out how to spell [name]Melissa[/name]… I get the same thing. Because my name has been brutalized with [name]Jazmin[/name]'s [name]Jazzman[/name]'s and [name]Jasmyn[/name]‘s, few people actually spell my name correctly… plain ol’ [name]Jasmine[/name]. A lot of names are getting hacked and frankensteined for the sake of kreeatifitee and it annoys me, but at least you can say “hey, this is a real ligitimate name!” and it IS beautiful. The family will love it when they see what a beautiful unique baby she is.
I went a little ranty there didn’t I, lol
I love the name [name]Saoirse[/name], and needless to say, as those have said before me, you’ll always be spelling it. My family are Irish also, but I’m not sure how they’d feel about the political association with the name. At the moment it’s my husband I have to convince- he thinks that names should be easy to pronounce and easy to spell. We’re currently expecting our 2nd child and can’t agree on a single name.
Well If you think it’s a good name go for it. I persomly love the name and who cares if it is spelled weird? Exoitic is in.
It’s so funny that a lot of people brought up the name [name]Siobhan[/name] because I know a family with two kids named [name]Saoirse[/name] and [name]Siobhan[/name]! I LOVEEEE Saiorse and I am definitely using it when I have kids! I’ve always pronounced it Seer-sha though, but either pronunciation works!
If there are a lot of spelling problems you could change the spelling…but I like it like this!
It’s so funny that a lot of people brought up the name [name]Siobhan[/name] because I know a family with two kids named [name]Saoirse[/name] and [name]Siobhan[/name]! I LOVEEEE Saiorse and I am definitely using it when I have kids! I’ve always pronounced it Seer-sha though, but either pronunciation works!
If there are a lot of spelling problems you could change the spelling…but I like it like this!
I say go for the name you love! Like someone else said, my name is [name]Melissa[/name] and for some reason, people have to ask me how to spell that!
So just go for it! It is a beautiful name!
[name]Saoirse[/name] is one of my favourite girls’ names, so obviously I think you have made a great choice 
I wouldn’t worry about the political affiliation as long as you don’t live in the UK or [name]Ireland[/name], because I shouldn’t think many people will know of it (and those who do will also know that you live in … [I’m presuming [name]America[/name]] … and so most likely aren’t making a political statement).
It’s just so pretty … sorry, got distracted
Pronunciation/spelling - yes, you’ll have to tell people whenever you meet them, but her friends and family will quickly get to know, which is really the important thing. You end up getting used to always spelling it, and it’s worth it for a truly lovely, unusual name!
One of my est friends growing up was named [name]Siobhan[/name] and had to pronounce and spell her name all her life and hated her parents for naming her that. Once she got old enough she changed it to a more recognizable phonetic spelling. Shevaughn.
Phonetic spellings cause just as many problems, though, as people will know how to spell it the usual way, so you’ll always be correcting them anyway, or not recognise the name and still need it spelling to make sure (I would always spell [name]Siobhan[/name] that way, or I’ll think a [name]Neve[/name] is [name]Niamh[/name] etc.)