Saoirse?

Totally agree

I think the days are long past when Irish people should second guess names or pander to ignorance or bigotry when choosing names for their children. We don't have to have an 'official' English name any more for school or public records, and we're no longer begging for menial work in Anglophone countries and trying to make ourselves acceptable by ditching our language. We should proceed on the assumption that most people are open minded and reasonably intelligent, and if it turns out we are wrong, then that's their problem.

I would pronounce it Sore -see which I am sure is wrong.

There are thousands of Niamhs, Maireads, Siobhans, Nualas, Deirdres, and other bearers of Irish names from my generation living all over the world, and their friends and colleagues and HCPs manage to deal with their names just fine, as do the women themselves. My experience of having an Irish name in the US is that the vast majority of people get it right after one or two tries, and it's not at all a pain in tbe ass.

Re the SoreArse thing......I dont know if there are still any ex BGHers here but if you are then you know!!

I have NEVER thought of 'sore arse' when seeing this name.

But now I won't be able to think of anything else! 😂

@NameNameNameNames The name Saoirse is a nice name, but yeah it will be spelt incorrectly AND pronounced incorrectly throughout her life. A LOT.

I'm not Irish but know how it's pronounced. Lovely name, go for it.

It makes me think “tuirse”
or maybe that’s just this grumpy thread.

Yeah @Darkherds its shit, I have to use my maiden name in certain places when back and we gave up house hunting in NI as difficult to find anywhere suitable that surnames/identities wouldn’t be a problem. It’s so very segregated, we are a cross community outfit so hard to fit safely.

I think that's overstating the case quite a bit.
Most people in ROI won't be bothered irrespective of their politics or religion (with the possible exception of some in the border counties).
I agree it might have more implications than Rosie does in the North, but then other Irish names have the same issue to a lesser extent. I know a Ciaran and an Aoife who were advised to use their middle names when they visited a particular town in NI a couple of years back. The person dishing out the advice was only half joking.

I am Northern Irish, but we say Seer sha too.

That is a totally different name!

Roughly speaking the specific group would be the 1 million Protestants on the island and the people who voted Sinn Féin in last elections. 30% in north, 13.8% south… so extrapolating broadly (not taking into account non voters) that would be 570k, 690k…… 2.26 million total out of a total population of 6.8 million.

So a third of the island could be a pain in the arse about the name. But the rest will just think it’s a pretty name like any other.

It’s pronounced Seersha. It also means freedom and for a specific group of people it is associated with the ‘troubles’ in Ireland and the IRA.. I love it personally

You can have exuberantly positive responses by the way - as I said the republicans love it.

We were in a pub when pregnant (me obviously not drinking) and discussing names as you do. I mentioned I loved the name Saoirse and DH’s friend said “ah freedom” followed by a republican phrase and my husbands name in Irish… I have no idea what he said but DH just looked at me pointedly like see I told you so… and that was the end of that sadly!

ps might I add since children we spend much less time in pubs to encounter all these experiences 😂😂

Did you read the post that was written just before yours?

Look I don’t think it does good to stick your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t a consideration.

If Saoirse is going to spend her entire life in ROI and never venture north fair enough crack on.

If she came North she would probably have to mind herself more than somebody called Rosie. That’s a fair enough thing to mention.

@Mooshamoo However there is links between the name saoirse and the notion of freedom fighter.

because the word was used to name a newsletter. You simply have not got a clue and it shows. Wish you'd get off the thread with your nonsense.

Yikes I missed all the RA talk….

Ok so @Liv999 I have lived north and south (Antrim/Armagh/Wicklow/Dublin… preempting your question) and in southern ROI counties you are very unlikely to have a problem with Saoirse.

In Northern counties (I include border counties to NI from ROI in that) you may have some issue because people will largely either be very pro republican politics/antics or very against. Politics in the north is so polarised. And accordingly they are aware of the Saoirse newsletter “the voice of the republican movement”….
(Could have issue in Scotland too as not only are some people invested in the NI debate, but there is the independence “freedom” question there too).

It is a real shame SF adopted the name and changed the connotations around it, or rather used them for their own aims but it is what it is.

As people have said it depends where are you on the island.

While Irish names can be seen as “other” by unionist Protestants… Saoirse is one where they know what it means and aren’t fond..

Unfortunately the Donegal story is true, we were all in a pub doing a quiz (not an old person quiz, a young one where shots and things are involved). Somebody overheard her being called by name and came over with the “so you’re a freedom fighter are you” introduction…. I think she said something like “and proud of it”, but it wouldn’t have mattered what, the person was looking to give her shit, the whole thing escalated and we had to keep the guy - yes guy - back off her and her off him.

Irish people in pubs are complicated things too.

Who was doing the shouting? I seriously doubt it was an Irish person calling another Irish person a freedom fighter because her name was Saoirse just doesn't happen here, sorry but that's completely bizarre

I never said it meant freedom fighter. I know saoirse is the Irish word for freedom. I'm pretty good at speaking Irish, after having studied it Irish for twelve years in school, like we all have to.

Saoirse means freedom. However there is links between the name saoirse and the notion of freedom fighter.

I have posted that I have seen freedom fighter being shouted at a girl called saoirse.

Another poster on this thread has said that she has knew a woman called saoirse in Donegal. She said that that saoirse got "freedom fighter" shouted at her outside of a pub. It happens

For a start the name doesn't mean "freedom fighter" it means " freedom" which is totally different, and secondly most people on this thread have actually said it doesn't have republican meanings if you read it properly, also what does " if you want to be very irish" mean? Makes no sense, you def are not irish born are you

Anotjer poster wrote this. Im not the only one to say it:

"Although we did witness a girl called Saoirse be physically assaulted in a bar in Donegal (of all places), started off “so you’re a freedom fighter are you?” then escalated and we and others had to step in to protect her."

They did shout it at her. They used to make fun of her.

If you read back up before my post, another poster has also written about a saoirse that she knew being shouted at because of her name.

I'm not that overly invested in the name saoirse - to make that story up.

Call your child what you want. For some people saoirse is just a pretty name. For other people (ànd I'm not the only person on this thread to say this) it can have republican meanings.

with its republican meanings it might mean that she might get a bit of abuse in some places. It's up to you if you like the name more than that.