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Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Baby names

Sorcha... pronunciations?

392 replies

pinkytheshrinky · 11/09/2011 06:45

I know that for the most part this name is pronounced Sor-kha but I met a nice older lady years ago who was a Sor-sha - I do really like this name and it is top of the list for my new dc. What do you think?

I do also have two other dds with Irish names who's spellings have been Anglicised so I do have form for this....

OP posts:

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Avinalarf · 11/09/2011 23:22

'ch' is never pronounced 'sha' in Irish. It is Sor-uh-ka.

Saoirse?

mathanxiety · 12/09/2011 00:20

It's not Sor-sha. That's just for the benefit of people who find forrin names challenging.

Sur-uh-kha is how I would say it. The middle syllable is barely noticeable.

mathanxiety · 12/09/2011 00:22

Talkingninsense, Saoirse is pronounced Seer-sha.

TinyPawz · 12/09/2011 00:26

Saoirse, although a lovely name, unfortunately has "political" implications

SlinkingOutsideInSocks · 12/09/2011 03:10

I thought the single 's' created the 'sh' sound the OP seems keen on, as in Sean, Siobhan.

I am not Irish (DH is though) but I would think someone choosing an Irish name and then using an Anglicised spelling to be, I'm sorry to say it, but pretty ignorant. Like Neave for Naimh, etc.

Sorry, I would smile and say 'lovely name' to your face, but would be quietly judging you in my thoughts. I'm sure a lot of people would though they'd never admit it.

pinkytheshrinky · 12/09/2011 05:34

I am not sure it really is an Anglicised spelling though - the sorcha I met years ago was an older woman, she was Irish (no idea from where to be honest)

And when I say I have Irish Anglicised names I mean one of them is Orla - this is an Anglicised form of Orlaith and the other more extraordinary spellings, so am I judged for this too, or is this ok because there are more of them? Lots and lots of people on here have mentioned this name on their baby name lists and i cannot recall one incidence of those people being called ignorant and accused of mis-spelling the name.

Fuck it, i think I might have to live with the judgement - short of giving one's child a ridiculous (and potentially harmful) Armani/Chardonnay type name I cannot believe anyone's life is so empty that they would care enough to judge.

I also think it might be a Scottish Gaelic pronunciation as someone else here has mentioned. It appears there are a lot of Sorchas pronounced with the sha so it cannot just be lots of ignorant people getting it wrong.

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pinkytheshrinky · 12/09/2011 05:39

And... according the the Celtic name book Sorcha is pronounced Sor+ha and has nothing to do with Sarah either - the plot thickens........

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parentfailure · 12/09/2011 06:57

FWIW, I have an Irish relative who has lived in Ireland all of her life and she is ORLA (Not Orlaith). As far as I know, no-one has ever commented on the spelling of her name.

Just go for the name, spelling and pronunciation that you like

pinkytheshrinky · 12/09/2011 07:41

Yes I think I will

I just found another pronunciation which is sor+ra - so it seems like they might all be right depending on regions etc

All our female Irish relatives are called Bridget or Kathleen, or so it seems......

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BuntyPenfold · 12/09/2011 09:51

I know 2 older women whose names are very confusing. One is Marie, one is Mary, both pronounced MARee with the emphasis on the first syllable.

Choose whatever name/spelling combination you like, but be tolerant of the many who will get it wrong.

Hedwig3 · 12/09/2011 10:36

I know a 10 year old girl named Sorcha, pn sorsha.

mathanxiety · 12/09/2011 16:30

SlinkinOutside -- it's the 'se' or 'si' that makes the SH sound.

In Irish, vowels are categorised as broad (A, O, U) or slender (I, E). Broad (leathan) and slender (caol) vowels affect the way the consonants are pronounced. A broad S is S. A slender S is SH. A broad L is L. A slender L is more of a Ly sound. A broad D is D (like a French D sound though), while a slender D has more of a J or DZH sound. And so on.

On either side of a consonant, the vowels must be either broad or slender, never a mix of both. For instance, if there's an A before a consonant or combination of consonants, the vowel letter following the consonant(s) must be A, O, or U, and same goes for the slender vowels.

Orla isn't an anglicised form of Orlaith. It's a perfectly acceptable modern Irish form of Orlaith, which was itself an updated form of Orfhlaith.

The CH in Sorcha isn't really a plain H sound and it's not a K sound either. More like the Russian Kh or the 'ch' in Scottish loCH.

grumplestilskin · 12/09/2011 20:02

Orla is perfectly acceptable (and common) in Ireland so not sure what that point was?

Aphria · 12/09/2011 20:58

Sorcha pronounced Sorsha will always be an Irish name that's mispronounced as far as I'm concerned.

HelenDamnation · 12/09/2011 21:11

I'm Irish, living in Ireland and I've heard Sorcha pronounced Surraka, Surragha and Sorka here but never Sorsha, that sounds to me almost identical to Seoirse which is Irish for George and a boy's name. Maybe there is some Scottish variation with a soft "sh" in it? Def. not in Irish.

mathanxiety that was a top post! Did you cog it from Progress in Irish?

PootlePosyPerkin · 12/09/2011 21:20

My great aunt's name was Maria - pronounced Mariah . I also know a Marie pronounced MAR-eee, but he's a man .

No idea how to pronounce Sorcha though - sorry!

KenDoddsDadsDog · 12/09/2011 21:21

Orla is not anglicised!

KenDoddsDadsDog · 12/09/2011 21:23

P.S County Armagh here and pronounced Soraka.

SayItIsntSo · 12/09/2011 21:29

Just to add, I'm Irish (Dubliner) and have an Aunt Sorcha - I've only ever heard it pronounced sor-a-ka

mathanxiety · 13/09/2011 05:16

No, but that title brings me (way, way) back . My Irish teacher thought the author must have had a keen sense of irony to give a book a name like that.

IthinkIamUndecided · 13/09/2011 23:09

Just call her Sarah. Or Sara.

pinkytheshrinky · 13/09/2011 23:11

Sarah has nothing to do with Sorcha and it is dull as fuck (apologies to all the Sarah's out there)

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IthinkIamUndecided · 13/09/2011 23:34

At least you'd know how to pronounce it though.

pinkytheshrinky · 14/09/2011 06:24

yes but the point is that people have said they know people called Sorcha with the sha, the books say Sar-ha or Sor-ra and there is also Sorika and one pronounced with a ch like Loch, there is also a Sor-ca , surrakah, - this is just on one MN thread, so there really isn't one way to pronounce it is there. Surely all those people including myself who know a Sorcha said with a sha don't know a bunch of idiots who don't even know how to say their own name? Is it not possible that all of these are correct?

IthinkIamUndecided: the fact you imagine that name is at all related to the name I have asked about really does explain your depth of knowledge too doesn't it? I was asking about pronunciations; to which you have made no suggestions and there is no need to be unpleasant.

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KenDoddsDadsDog · 14/09/2011 06:56

Pronounce it how you like.

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