Saoirse

Beautiful name.

Sorcha is definitely surrukha kind of thing, "ch" isn't "sh" in Irish ever. Seoirse would be "shorsha" which is indeed the Irish equivalent of George but it seems to get some use these days for baby girls, presumably because people like the sound and don't want to go for the often politically loaded Saoirse.

And yes, in Saoirse Ronan's accent, 'inertia' is "in-ayer-sha", which is why she says it rhymes with inertia - she's still saying "sayersha" (or rather, sayersheh) which is the only other accepted pronunciation besides the "seer" one. She actually unwittingly confused things even more by trying to make things simpler :P

(My name is Sorcha and I just tell everyone to think of the word "surrogate" without the final T, it usually works)

Me too. I always say sore arse in by head.

The first thing I think of when I see that name is 'sore arse'

No one has ever mentioned the Sinn Feinn connection. I'm sure some people think it's a political statement then again some people are just idiots.

@Maypole245 but there is no way that combination of letters produces "or" in the Irish language. You may be Irish but that doesn't mean you're pronouncing it correctly.

The other pronunciations you mentioned are valid, as I said in my post.

I’ve only ever hear Sorcha pronounced Surr-a-ka. You live and learn though, eh.

The Sorsha pronunciation I thought was Seorse, an Irish boys name equivalent to George.

I pronounce Sorcha as surruka. So no similarities really other than the first letter!

I say Seersha but am aware of Sirsha prononciation and dont judge it, its just a regional variation. Its definately not a political name in ROI! Its just a really common girls name.

@harrietm87 we're irish, have a Saoirse, and pronounce it Sor-sha. And know people who say Sir-sha. And Seer-sha. And Sare-sha.

None of us are wrong, just different. (And yes to pp, Sorcha is a different name - I would say it Sor-huh. Just to add to the mix )

It’s my best friends name. I love it and say it correctly because she’s taught me but mostly she’s know as Sersh because no one can get it right.

All through school she was called Sasha because no one could say it and she found it sooooo frustrating that no one could say her name right.

Saoirse Ronan says it rhymes with inertia because in her Dublin accent she pronounces inertia as in-air-sha.

The options are really Seer-sha or Sare-sha depending on the part of Ireland (NOT sor-sha or say-sha - completely wrong).

I think in an English accent the right pronunciation is seer-sha. Just as Aoife is Ee-fa (aoi = ee).

why would you choose this name if you are not Irish and you don't live in Ireland?
It means 'freedom' btw and is quite political.

I love the name

If you struggle to pronounce it though then don’t use it. How about Sorcha as an alternative?

I've got a Saoirse. She is my little ray of sunshine ☀️ We are not in Ireland either. Just be prepared for some off the wall pronunciations.

We pronounce it Seer-sha but have been asked if it's Ser-sha. Both are correct.

I love the name and I'm so glad we went with it.

Saoirse is a beautiful name and I think that your way of pronouncing it is perfectly fine, it's seer-sha where I'm from but it does vary from region to region and your pronunciation is totally normal

It does vary by dialect. Where I'm from the first syllable would rhyme with pear or stair. With the tiniest hint of a W sound after the S also, just to confuse things.

The final syllable is more of an "uh" than a strict "ah" sound for me too.

Saoirse Ronan sometimes explains it as "rhymes with inertia" which is probably similar to my way of saying it.

Having said that, if I meet someone who says it in a different dialect, I do try to remember to use their preferred way.

I think it's beautiful but I would consider it to have very strong political connotations and would never choose it for that reason.

In NI its normally seer-sha but sir-sha is totally fine too. Sor-sha (Sorcha) is a different name, which also has different pronunciations depending on what part of the country you're in!

I really wouldn't pick a name that you know you can't pronounce correctly.

Oh no harm in pointing out all reactions to a name. I would choose the name because of its meaning. However, plenty of names are chosen regardless of it so I thought I’d point that out.

I like the fact Irish names are appearing beyond Ireland. If I wanted to call my daughter a traditional English name no one would say that if I had no English connection to not use it. This is all just my opinion and mean in a light hearted discussion way.

I only know it as sor-sha. It’s a nice name though.

Well here in NI it can be viewed as "patriotic". Its the name of the republican sinn feins newspaper and if i remember rightly it was the slogan used in the free the pow campaign ( i was very young then so i could be wrong.) Its may not be relevant to the OP inkspellme but not beong irish i wanted to let her know! I dont think irish names should be kept for irish people.

Don't use Saoirse if you aren't Irish and find the pronunciation 'a little difficult'.

The name only has Republican connections due to a translation. It translates from Gaelic to English as meaning Freedom. It doesn’t have to have any connection if it doesn’t have that relevance or meaning to you.

It’s one of my favorite Irish names. I’m Irish and see no reason for only the Irish to use Irish names. My name is Scottish and my Dh’s French.

Pronouncing Saoirse varies with regions so go with the one you want but be prepared to have to correct/remind people how it’s prnounced.

This is the one that gives me nightmares. In my head it's say - orse. A bit like sea horse.