Girl's name
Róisín
“ro-SHEEN”
IPA: /ˈɾˠoːˈʃiːnʲ/
'little rose'
Why it is said that way
The s before an í is sh, and both fadas are long vowels: ro-SHEEN. It means little rose.
- s before e or i → sh
- á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional
The story behind the name
Róisín Dubh, 'Dark Little Rose', is Ireland herself in one of the most famous songs in the language, a love poem to a woman that is also a coded lament for a country. James Clarence Mangan's translation gave it to English as 'Dark Rosaleen'.
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z