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?

Yes I like Irish fairies too. And I love those photos you see of young Irish boys from the early decades of the 20thc dressed in skirts, so that the changelings will mistake them for girls and not snatch them away.

(There might have been a more prosaic reason for them wearing little frocks too, but I like this explanation)

I do like the Irish faires too, PleaseBeSeated, quite different from the usual sort

And yes, changelings were suspected if children didn't develop as expected, or sometimes later on too, if someone developed mental illness etc. They seem to have been viewed very negatively though. Some people escaped murder charges using the defence the victim was a changeling. It's sad really.

Love the name and love the meaning. I only heard the name recently. I'm assuming you live in Ireland, in England it's almost unheard of and you'd have to explain it to everyone, but it's still lovely.

@LizzieAnt

I do like the Irish faires too, PleaseBeSeated, quite different from the usual sort

And yes, changelings were suspected if children didn't develop as expected, or sometimes later on too, if someone developed mental illness etc. They seem to have been viewed very negatively though. Some people escaped murder charges using the defence the victim was a changeling. It's sad really.

If anyone else is interested in changeling lore, anything by Angela Bourke is brilliant on this, as is her book The Burning of Bridget Cleary (in which the 'Ah lads, I seriously thought she was a changeling' murder defence didn't work...)

Yes, I'm not suggesting that a worldview that included changelings was in any way socially positive! The Bridget Cleary case is interesting for that, because she didn't have children, and was a rather successful woman for someone from her background in rural Tipp in 1895 dressmaker with her own sewing machine, also had a successful mini-business selling eggs Angela Bourke I think suggests that as a childless woman with access to her own cash she was viewed as having too much power, which may have contributed to her 'changeline' death.

Yes, it's a famous and tragic case, the poor woman.
Superstition had a very dark side that we're (thankfully) disconnected from in modern Ireland.

It’s a beautiful name.

@LizzieAnt

Yes, it's a famous and tragic case, the poor woman. Superstition had a very dark side that we're (thankfully) disconnected from in modern Ireland.

I must admit I am extremely careful in fairy forts, and would no more eat blackberries growing in one than I would walk into traffic.

I just thought you weren't supposed to build on them. I didn't realise fairy fort soft fruits were out of bounds!

There are still some piseoga around all right, but they don't now cause the harm they once could (at least I hope not). Science has shone a light on the old superstitions and people don't believe in them as they did.

That said...my granny always cautioned against cutting the whitethorn (the fairy tree) and would be horrified if a branch was brought into the house (they have lovely scented blossoms in May). So I'd never cut one - just to be on the safe side maybe? .