Girl's name
Síle
“SHEE-la”
IPA: /ˈʃiːlʲə/
the Irish form of Cecilia
The story behind the name
So common in Ireland that 'sheila' became Australian slang for a woman, carried there by 19th-century emigrants. It is also the name in the sheela-na-gig — the bold carved female figures on medieval Irish churches whose meaning is still argued over.
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