Saoirse
'freedom, liberty'
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 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.
- Saoirse Ronan (born 1994) — Irish-American actress
- Saoirse-Monica Jackson (born 1993) — Northern-Irish actress
- Saoirse Noonan (born 1999) — Irish footballer
Irish people with an English Wikipedia article whose given name is recorded as Saoirse on Wikidata; descriptions from Wikidata.
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