I've loved the name Saoirse for years but now that it's actually coming time to pull the trigger, I'm wondering if it's a bad idea.
Some context: I'm Irish-American with a very Irish name (first and last) but one that's pretty well-known in the US (more so now than when I was a kid). DH isn't Irish at all. DD is getting his last name so I knew I wanted an Irish first because it connects her to me and my family. Saoirse has always been my favorite and I really adore the name but knowing she's staring down the barrel of years of mispronunciations and poor guessing, I'm beginning to reconsider. We've considered other more American Irish names like Mara, Nora, Quinn, etc but don't love them as much. What are your thoughts? Especially people who had a lot of trouble with their names growing up. Is it worth it? Also have people really become that much more familiar with the name after Saoirse Ronan? FWIW we're planning on using Sari (said like hair, just like how we'd say sair-shuh) as a nickname but much more as a pet name than every day use name. |
Yes, it is cruel. If you have to ask, you know the answer. |
I don’t think it’s cruel but I also wouldn’t do it. Some people love having unique names like that, some people hate it. No way to know how your kid will feel.
Saoirse Ronan is great but not big enough to have made much of a dent in how familiar the name is to the general public |
This is a mess. Sari said like hair? How in the Irish Catholic Church is that going to make sense in the US?! You're going to call your daughter hair? What?
Nobody will pronounce it right unless they're Irish and nobody will spell the vowels right in the right order. |
Clearly like hair means the vowel is stretched like hair. So rather, naming her daughter hairy |
I wouldn’t be able to pronounce that- like at all. Not enough to even attempt it, I’d be afraid of trying. The SAOI part throws me.
Name them whatever you want, but if you want something people can pronounce this isn’t it. Also I’d pronounce “Sari” as “sorry” if I saw it written. |
I think it’s a beautiful name. My children have ethnic names from my culture. It never even crossed my mind that it could be cruel because it’s not. |
Can you use a different spelling? I can’t suggest one because I have no idea what this word sounds like. |
Please don’t deter her- 8 year old children everywhere deserve this piece of word rhyming gold. |
Go with Quinn
How do you even pronounce that? Sores like cold sores? |
The famous actress said it's pronounced like "inertia". |
So you want to name your kid sinertia? |
SHE AIN’T THAT FAMOUS, STILL NOBODY BE PRONOUNCING THIS NAME RIGHT! |
The problem is that the spelling and pronunciation of Irish names doesn’t follow American rules. No one will ever be able to pronounce or spell the girl’s name. I get it, op, it’s a beautiful name. But I do think it’s a burden to have an Irish name like that in the states. I grew up with a Siobhan and every year the teachers would butcher the pronunciation of her name at the start of school. I’m an Eileen which is theoretically easy enough, but people outside of NY and Boston seem to have a hard time with it. |
Do not do this as a first name. If you really love it, make it the middle name. But not the first. |