Saoirse

[FetchMeMyLatte]

I love this name. I am aware the pronunciation is Seer-sha, however with my accent, I and others find this a little difficult. I prefer the pronunciation Sir(ser)-sha, but I would never want to offend anyone by pronouncing it wrong (I get fed up hearing people say names like Siobhan, Catriona and Eilidh wrong...).
Would this way be acceptable? Has anyone met a Saoirse and know how they pronounce their name? I know one who pronounces it Say-sha and I really don't like it.

I love the name

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

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.

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).

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.

@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 )

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.

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.

@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.

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.

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

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

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)

Beautiful name.