irish baby girl names

[DeborahRoss26]

Hi ladies :) im expecting a baby girl at beginning of september. And im thinking of using either Aoife.. Caoimhe.. Saoirse, 1 of those 3. I love irish names my middle names Siobhan. What do you think if those 3 names? And any suggestions?

[SingingSilver]

I adore the name Saoirse. I know in NI it's pronounced Seersha, and in ROI Sersha, either way is lovely.

Caoimhe is pronounced Kee-va? That's very pretty too. Aoife (Ee-fa?) is becoming more well-known, I think one of the Saturdays used that name. They're all nice. Maybe wait till she comes along and see which fits her best?

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I'd have loved to have used Dervla but DH wasn't keen.

[BOF]

My dd2 is Róisín. I tend to call her Rosie.

[burberryqueen]

Aoife is lovely

[onelittlepiglet]

Love these names. Also Orla and Emer are lovely.

[JasmineScentedCandle]

Really really dislike the name Saoirse. It's the name of a republican local newspaper in Belfast. What about Síofra? not crazy about that for different reasons mind you.

I like Roisín. Aoife is just too popular. It has been popular for a long time an is a very safe, classic choice because of Aoife from the Legend but I am bored with Aoife. It's like Kate I guess it just never goes away.

Caoimhe is ok. It is a pretty sound but everybody would struggle with spelling.

My favourite Irish girls names are Maeve, Orla, Clodagh.

As your middle name is Siobhan, what about Siún for your baby?

[Bearandcub]

Clodagh

[forgetmenots]

Love these, also (can't type fadas)
Orla
Fionnuala (Nuala)
Siun
Roisin
Ailbhe
Aisling

[forgetmenots]

X post!

[Alisvolatpropiis]

I love Aoife

[burberryqueen]

agree about 'Saoirse' i think it was a republican group in London too.

[Fantail]

DD was almost Saoirse, but in the end we went for a much more conventional name.

As long as you at aware of the political connection to the name and are prepared to justify the use then I think go ahead. A lot of people will not be aware but for some it will cut to the bone. Similar to the use of Jemima in the USA.

[Fantail]

It is avoided because of its associations with slavery. "Aunt Jemima" is the equivalent of "Uncle Tom"

[Turniptwirl]

I love the name Saoirse and have spent time living in the Republic of Ireland and never heard of any negative associations of it. Depends where you live I guess, Northern Ireland may be more aware of such things.

If you live in mainland uk then a popular Irish name like Aoife may well be easier than a less well known one.

[BeaWheesht]

I like Ailish and Mairead

[dufflefluffle]

Maeve!
I hate any of those Caoimhe, Caoilfhinn names - they sound so whiney (or maybe the Caoimhe's I knew were just whiney)
Cara
Aoife is lovely and spelling could even be phonetic (Efa) if she gets fed up spelling it out for people.
I think Roisin is too popular - there must be 10 in our local school of 200 pupils.
Aine (Awyna)

[RaisingHooligirls]

I'm in Dublin and I wouldn't consider Saoirse for reasons mentioned above.

[squoosh]

Interesting, I don't associate Saoirse with Republicanism at all. I doubt many people who use the name do anymore either. I think of a more hippyish type of 'freedom'! To me it's a very middle class Irish name.

I pronounce it sare-sha, although seer-sha and ser-sha are legit too.

[Witchesbrewandbiscuits]

love love love Roisin!

[DramaAlpaca]

I'm in the mid-west of Ireland & you'd be looked at sideways for using Saoirse (which is pronounced sare-sha here too) because of the above mentioned reasons.

When I first lived here and was unaware of how Irish names are pronounced I misheard someone's daughter's name as Saoirse when it was actually Sorcha. I got a very stern correction & an explanation as to why her daughter was very definitely not called Saoirse!

I actually think it's a beautiful name.

Caoimhe is lovely too. It's pronounced Queeva where I live, rather than Keeva.

Aoife is my favourite Irish girl's name, and was on the list if I'd had a DD.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

duffle I thought Aoife could be spelled phonetically as Efa,however it was pointed out to me it's a Welsh name pronounced Air-va (roughly).

How confusing!

[LucySnoweShouldRelax]

I'm Irish, living in London, as are a lot of Irish young people of my generation. My first name is not Irish, but a lot of my friends living here are middle-class Dubliners with names of the Caoilfhionn variety. I really do thank the stars that my parents didn't burden me with a name that I have to explain every single time a stranger asks, and that realistically, no one can pronounce. My friends have fake English names that they use when they're short of time.

Personally, I prefer names like Una, Mary, Bridie, Kitty, Maud, Sadie (BOD shout-out there). I realise that these names aren't everyone's cup of tea, and aren't exclusively Irish, but they're the names of my grandmothers' generation, and are, for me, a far stronger link to my Irish heritage than the Lasairfhionas of this world.

All that said, I do like Naoise ('Neesha') or Banbha ('Banva')

[squoosh]

I met a Lasairfhiona recently! That's one tricky mo-fo of a name to be stuck with, even in Ireland.

I'm a bit blah about Irish names, they're so unexotic to me but I can appreciate that people from other countries see them as fresh.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Out of your choices Caoimhe is my favourite.

Other irish names I like are Cliodhna (pron Klena) and Caoileann (pron Keelin.)

I am in N.Ireland and I wasnt aware that Saoirse had those connections.