Girl's name
Saoirse
“SEER-sha”
IPA: /ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə/
'freedom, liberty'
Why it is said that way
Two rules at once: ao is a long ee, and the s before an i is sh. SEER-sha. The final e is a short uh.
- s before e or i → sh
- ao → ee, or ay in Munster
The story behind the name
The youngest of the great Irish names: it was barely used as a given name before the 1920s, when republican families began naming daughters for the freedom they had just fought for. It has since travelled the world — helped by the actress Saoirse Ronan, who has patiently taught chat shows to say it.
Its age
Associated with 1922 — Partition — Free State & Northern Ireland.
See Ireland in that year on the atlas ↗
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