Síofra

[Snowbell99]

What are your thoughts on Síofra, Irish, SHEE-fra?

It means "fairy, sprite, elf" but also "changeling".

Is that meaning too weird? I actually love fairy tales, mythology etc. and it adds to the depth and meaning of the name but of course it could be seen as bad? What do you think?

I knew someone who's name was Síofra but used an Anglicised nickname. I really like this name and as I'd always wondered how it was spelt, thank you for posting this!
Irish names are so popular now and people are quickly getting used to the spellings and pronunciations so I'd say go for it and congratulations!

I'm not a fan personally but it is really popular in my dds school(it's a gaelscoil so maybe more swayed towards Irish names), there are 3 Síofras in her class. I don't think most people pay too much heed to the meaning of names so I wouldn't let that put you off.

@RoastedFerret

I'm not a fan personally but it is really popular in my dds school(it's a gaelscoil so maybe more swayed towards Irish names), there are 3 Síofras in her class. I don't think most people pay too much heed to the meaning of names so I wouldn't let that put you off.

Thank you both!

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

It is interesting to me because Síofra doesn't make the top 100 in Ireland as a whole so I am wondering which other names might be common in certain communities.

It’s very pretty but I do feel a bit sory for her having to explainf to the rest of her life how her name is pronounced.

If you’re in Ireland, go for it. Otherwise, your DD will forever have people misspell and mispronounce her name.

I like it. Most of the ones I know are 40+, actually.

It's more 'SHEEuh-fruh' around here -- the 'Sío' is a diphthong.

There were a few in my year at school in the 90s. Not mad keen on it though, has a spiky sound to me.

I have a friend called siofra. She’s Irish but uk based. It’s not hard to pronounce and generally people only need telling once. It’s very pretty IMO.

Really nice. I didn't know how it was pronounced, but now I do, I like the look and the sound of it.

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

Si means immortal no?

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

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.

@RoastedFerret

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.

Thank you! So interesting. Tara feels a bit 70s to me but it is very nice.

@TatianaBis

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

Si means immortal no?

Oh I don't know. But that would be nice!

I think sí means "fairy" in old Irish.

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

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"

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

The cat being Síofra is sweet too!

I like it a lot, and the meaning.

Go for it.

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

I like it. I know one my own age.

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

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 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.

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).

@LizzieAnt

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.

I actually like the meaning, because of thinking about how a pre-scientific society came up with a worldview that ‘explained’ post-natal depression, children with genetic anomalies etc.

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