Síofra

There are still some piseoga around all right, but they don't now cause the harm they once could (at least I hope not). Science has shone a light on the old superstitions and people don't believe in them as they did.

That said...my granny always cautioned against cutting the whitethorn (the fairy tree) and would be horrified if a branch was brought into the house (they have lovely scented blossoms in May). So I'd never cut one - just to be on the safe side maybe? .

I just thought you weren't supposed to build on them. I didn't realise fairy fort soft fruits were out of bounds!

It’s a beautiful name.

Yes, it's a famous and tragic case, the poor woman.
Superstition had a very dark side that we're (thankfully) disconnected from in modern Ireland.

@LizzieAnt

I do like the Irish faires too, PleaseBeSeated, quite different from the usual sort

And yes, changelings were suspected if children didn't develop as expected, or sometimes later on too, if someone developed mental illness etc. They seem to have been viewed very negatively though. Some people escaped murder charges using the defence the victim was a changeling. It's sad really.

Yes, I'm not suggesting that a worldview that included changelings was in any way socially positive! The Bridget Cleary case is interesting for that, because she didn't have children, and was a rather successful woman for someone from her background in rural Tipp in 1895 dressmaker with her own sewing machine, also had a successful mini-business selling eggs Angela Bourke I think suggests that as a childless woman with access to her own cash she was viewed as having too much power, which may have contributed to her 'changeline' death.

Love the name and love the meaning. I only heard the name recently. I'm assuming you live in Ireland, in England it's almost unheard of and you'd have to explain it to everyone, but it's still lovely.

I do like the Irish faires too, PleaseBeSeated, quite different from the usual sort

And yes, changelings were suspected if children didn't develop as expected, or sometimes later on too, if someone developed mental illness etc. They seem to have been viewed very negatively though. Some people escaped murder charges using the defence the victim was a changeling. It's sad really.

Yes I like Irish fairies too. And I love those photos you see of young Irish boys from the early decades of the 20thc dressed in skirts, so that the changelings will mistake them for girls and not snatch them away.

(There might have been a more prosaic reason for them wearing little frocks too, but I like this explanation)

(I also like that Irish fairies aren’t skippy, twee Tinkerbells, but sinister, powerful and avaricious about cattle, human babies and nursing mothers.)

I don't like the pronunciation, it's hard to say with ah and fr and in my Southern English accent turns very sarf London as I try to accommodate both those sounds close together. At first sight I thought it was said Soffra, which I actually prefer (though is obviously wrong).

I think sí means "fairy" in old Irish.

It's sí in modern Irish anyway, I think the spelling was slightly different in old Irish. The word banshee is derived from it as well (bean sí, bean meaning woman).

I'm actually not a fan of Síofra personally because of the meaning of changeling, but I think I'm in the minority.

It’s beautiful!

I’m a teacher in secondary school and every class register has a few names I have to clarify (and make a note of the phonetic pronunciation until I get the hang of it!). Increasingly, I teach pupils from all over the world, so it’s quite common for me to see tricky names. I don’t think being asked to clarify the spelling/pronunciation is a big deal.

I like it, and believe I pronounce this one correctly well, I pronounce it the way you have above and that the way the one I know says it.

Also PP said people don't worry too much about the meaning behind a name. It's not the 1st thing I do when someone tells me their name. I like the meaning of the name

I like it. I know one my own age.

Love it. And my name is one of the others mentioned!

I like it a lot, and the meaning.

Go for it.

Ahh thank you! That is really interesting actually. Adds to me liking the name.

The cat being Síofra is sweet too!

The fairy folk were a diminution of previous gods no? - the Tuatha dé Danann

With the caveat that I do not speak a word of Irish, I think the Aos Sí/ Daoine sídhe means the people of the burial mounds link

From the wiki page, sí is common to these words:

Sídhfir: "Immortal men"
Sídheógaídhe: "Little immortals"

My cat is called Síofra! 😻
She’s tiny with massive ears and eyes; she looks like a little fairy cat.

I think sí means "fairy" in old Irish.

I am just wondering would you let me know which other names are popular in your daughter's class or school?

Tara, Saoirse, Aoibhe, Aoibheann, Aoife are the ones that come to mind straight away as names with multiple because I get confused at all the Tara M, Tara D, Tara Nic etc when my dd is talking about them.

Síofra was on my name list. I still like it.

Love the name, love the mythological aspect. Win win.

Si means immortal no?