Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Baby names

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

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Saoirse (pronounced seer-sha)

61 replies

somewherewest · 05/03/2013 13:39

...sooo how cruel would I be to inflict this obscure Irish name on a child growing up in England . Honest opinions wanted. Its the Irish for 'freedom' by the way.

PS I'm posting as someone who always swears blind that she will give DCs nice 'neutral' names, so probably won't go there.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

badtime · 05/03/2013 16:06

milktraylady:
I think it's crazy to give a child a Gaelic name when they live in the uk.

So no-one in Scotland or Northern Ireland should have a Gaelic name?

JazzAnnNonMouse · 05/03/2013 16:34

I know one that pronounces it almost like cerise...

milktraylady · 05/03/2013 18:39

badtime, well i should have said england really, you are right in NI & scotland Gaelic names are much more common :)

MidnightMasquerader · 06/03/2013 01:14

But we can't reasonably expect everyone living in the UK - or as some people would have it, England - to all give their DC bog-standard Anglo-Saxon names. That's not realistic.

I think it's a lovely name, and know how to pronounce it. She may get annoyed by having to spell it/correct people often, or, she may not.

I have a name which can be spelled a myriad of ways, so always have to spell it out (Isabelle/Isabel/Isobel/Isobelle/etc). Not a big deal. If you want a name no-one is going to have to question, then call the child Kate or Bob.

TakingTheStairs · 06/03/2013 15:12

I'm Irish and live in London and have to explain my name (about the same difficulty as Saoirse) a minimum of three times a day. I hate that I have to do this, it's a PITA and I will never give my children names that are difficult for the country that we live in.
Please don't do it unless you're planning on moving to Ireland.
You don't have to give a bog-standard name but at least try to think about how difficult you are going to make their life. And you will

freerangechickens · 06/03/2013 15:16

I'm in America, and it would never be figured out over here, (which I know is no help to you) but I wanted to weigh in and say what a lovely name I think it is.

forgetmenots · 06/03/2013 19:20

100% agree with Midnight.
Even 'safe' names need spelling/pronunciation instruction, and then you've got the pain in the arse and the boring name!! (I feel your pain!)

KenDoddsDadsDog · 06/03/2013 22:16

I really love it but DH said it was a bit too up the RA for him. We did go with another Gaelic name and we live in England. And feck me, DH and I also have Gaelic names.

LynetteScavo · 06/03/2013 22:25

I knew an amazing Sorsha (spelled Sorsha) and really wanted to use the name for DD....DH and I don't really like Irish names because of the spelling (even DH has a traditional Irish name spelled the wrong English way)
I don't think it would be cruel. A bit confusing, maybe. Personally I would go for Sorsha or even Sasha. (I know, I know it't not the same!)

Sineads and Siobians and Neaves have managed, so I don't see why Saoirse wouldn't.

Homophone · 06/03/2013 22:26

I live in England. Love the name. Know one. Can pronounce it but have really had to try hard with the spelling.

LynetteScavo · 06/03/2013 22:27

OK, so I just spelled Niamh wrong....so maybe not!

amandine07 · 07/03/2013 00:11

I do love the 'unusual' name, well for the UK anyway, I knew an Irish girl years ago we pronounced it 'sor-sha' I think.

Although I don't think I'd use it due to having to explain the pronunciation/spelling all the time.
I do think it's beautiful though.

amandine07 · 07/03/2013 00:12

I do love Aoife- now by comparison that's a name I probably would use.

Tallyra · 07/03/2013 10:40

I'm second generation Irish living in Kent, with a Welsh married surname. I love the name Aoife and a few other names with beautiful Irish spellings, but I can't see it being a good thing for the child. My sister is called Ciara and the number of people that called her Clara as she was growing up was stupid. Also no-one in S.E. England seems to believe it's spelled that way, they all try to spell it with a Kei (possibly miss Knightley's fault).

I will be looking for a genuinely Irish name when the time comes, but I will make sure it's one that's spelled an easy way for the English to understand, and also that it's not a anglicised version because that really gets on my nerves.

TakingTheStairs · 07/03/2013 10:49

KenDoddsDadsDog - "I really love it but DH said it was a bit too up the RA for him"

What the actual fuck?? How on earth is a specific Irish name showing support for the IRA? Or do you think that because it's very Irish it sounds like something an IRA supporter would use? I'm genuinely confused by your DH's comment. I can't get my head around it at all.

And yes I'm aware you said that you have Gaelic names as does your DC, but I have no idea where that kind of thought process comes from. Seriously?

KenDoddsDadsDog · 07/03/2013 11:03

Put simply freedom and was/ is the name of the Provo IRA newsletter. And where he's from ( a very republican area, South Armagh) it's a name given with connotations. I could write lots on the topic but its very pertinent to the history of Northern Ireland and some communities.
You wouldn't have an idea unless you had lived it - and believe me you wouldn't want your child to.

KenDoddsDadsDog · 07/03/2013 11:05

And also a Gaelic name will instantly identify your religion.

mrsmellow · 07/03/2013 11:10

I love the name, but have an English DH who refuses to consider gaelic names with 'difficult' spellings...so annoying! I think they'll cope and learning that being a bit different but it is ok is a valuable life lesson!

ThePigOfHappiness · 07/03/2013 11:36

I think it's a nice idea, but has too many ira connotations for me too. I have a sorcha, pronounced sur u kha, would that be an alternative?

TakingTheStairs · 07/03/2013 11:40

KenDoddsDadsDog ahhhh! I never knew that about the newsletter! Wow, that would of course totally change the context of the meaning of the name for you and your DH. And yes the religion thing makes sense for NI too.

Just shows how much location can have an impact on naming a child.
My name isn't very common but not difficult for pronunciation, as long as you're Irish and live in Ireland (!).. but it was a whole new world of misunderstanding/weird pronunciation when I moved to the UK

Ginebra · 07/03/2013 11:42

I don't like it at all. I'm in my 40s and Irish and when I was young, I thought that anybody called Saoirse sympathised with the IRA (or their parents did). Now I would NOT think that as Irish names are all much more fashionable.

I would prefer Síofra though. Can I persuade you to choose Síofra? So much nicer.

austenozzy · 07/03/2013 11:47

I know someone who is English with an Irish name. Don't know if it's a family thing, or her parents just liked it, or whatever - the thing is that she has to explain all the time and it really gets on her nerves. And it's not one that can be shortened to an 'anglicised' nickname either, so she's stuck with it.

Lovely name, but it will be a pain in the backside for her for ever!

Ginebra · 07/03/2013 11:48

Takingthestairs, I commented on this thread without reading the other posts and I am the fourth poster to link the name Saoirse to the IRA, so I don't think Kendoddsdad is on her own there making that link. It is a join the dots thing not a totally baseless bizarre thought process on her part.

I would avoid the name myself, and not because of the spelling.

Floggingmolly · 07/03/2013 11:50

Síofra is even worse from a pronunciation point of view. And I hate it

ThePigOfHappiness · 07/03/2013 11:53

I agree, siofra is not great, it means changeling.

Flip

1 2 3