What do you reckon of Yrsa?

Girl Names
1

Yrsa is an Icelandic name (not sure if it’s also used in Scandinavia) that I was thinking about a bit. I’m not completely on board but I think it could grow on me so I wondered what you all thought.

It’s pronounced sort of like IR-sa, starting a bit like the word irresponsible. I could try to explain it but it would be better if you just had a quick listen to someone reading the name of the crime-writer Yrsa Sigurðardóttir.
http://www.forvo.com/word/yrsa_sigurðardóttir/#is

It sort of reminds me of the word ýsa, (EE-sa), meaning haddock, which puts me off a bit, plus I’m not sure that the pronunciation is all that intuitive. An yrsa in modern Icelandic is also a stubborn sheep or someone who is wild or promiscuous, so that is really not great either, although it’s not at all a common word and the author is pretty famous so I don’t think it’s what people would first think of (I have literally never come across the noun yrsa, I just looked it up in the dictionary - not a native speaker myself though). The meaning of the name is not known - it could mean wild or it could be a form of [name_f]Ursa[/name_f], i.e. she-bear. I do kind of like it, and it’s similar to some others I’m very fond of. I’m undecided. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it deserves to be on my list?

2

Ekki neitt?

3

Eh…it seems too close to [name_f]Ursa[/name_f] for my taste, I would always be thinking bears.

4

Bears are cool! That’s my favourite association for the name, the only one I really like. Otherwise I just like the sound.

5

I like Yrsa! :slight_smile: I think it might be used in [name_u]Sweden[/name_u] but I’ve never came across one. Didn’t know it was Icelandic:)

6

To this English speaker, the name sounds better than it looks. Yrsa looks like a jumble of letters or a kre8tif way to spell [name_f]Ursa[/name_f]. I like the way it sounds but not how it looks written out on the page. It’s a name I’d have to grow to like.

7

I love ys, so I find it appealing… but maybe a little unnecessarily complicated in an English-speaking country? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_f]Ursula[/name_f]? I think it’s great - serious, kind of a mahogany color in my mind. The hefty "she-bear"ness of the name is tempered by the feminine ending. An [name_f]Ursula[/name_f] can go by [name_f]Ursa[/name_f], Suli, or [name_f]Ula[/name_f]…

8

I got the pronunciation right on the first try, so that’s a plus. I do agree with emmabobemma though that it looks a little unnecessarily complicated in an English-speaking country.

9

I would be most concerned with the literal Icelandic meanings, none of which sound like positive associations.

10

I prefer the [name_f]Ursa[/name_f] spelling- how about [name_f]Ursula[/name_f]? While there is nothing wrong with Yrsa, [name_f]Ursula[/name_f] just has a bit more substance.

11

It reminds me of Mersa (the disease)