FWIW, OP, it was the 20th most popular name for girls born in Ireland last year.

When you don’t want to call someone by their given name, DCUM suggests:

LARLA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

Well one is a God and the other is a word that means "Freedom" and is fairly popular in multiple countries. So no, not quite the same.

DP but the meaning behind Saoirse is much more loaded than the simple word "freedom," but I'm guessing a person who thinks Mohammed is "a God" doesn't really care to think too deeply about her lack of understanding of other cultures.

Mohammad is a prophet, but thank you. And hey OP, go ahead and name your child whatever you want!

-daughter of a living, breathing Irish person with an Irish passport and everything. Don't lecture me about my own culture.

Agree to disagree. It's a total Plastic Paddy move.

Ireland owes much to the Irish American population forged by their ancestors. Its where the majority of the funding for the independence movement came from. America still provides work to young Irish seeking more opportunities as the Celtic tiger is no more. Yet always so quick to throw out plastic paddy insult to Americans feeling g a connection to their roots. Try reading about the Irish American experience in this country. Irish in Boston Irish in America. the experience of the Irish in America was not an easy one early on and naturally subcultures and identification with roots occurs, which travels down generations. I am an Irish American and close with my family in Ireland. The Irish I know do not care whatsoever to gatekeep Irish names and are mortified by Irish who mock Americans who want to connect with ancestral culture.

It's where a lot of funding for Irish Terrorism came from too! Double-edged sword for sure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

Well one is a God and the other is a word that means "Freedom" and is fairly popular in multiple countries. So no, not quite the same.

DP but the meaning behind Saoirse is much more loaded than the simple word "freedom," but I'm guessing a person who thinks Mohammed is "a God" doesn't really care to think too deeply about her lack of understanding of other cultures.

Mohammad is a prophet, but thank you. And hey OP, go ahead and name your child whatever you want!

-daughter of a living, breathing Irish person with an Irish passport and everything. Don't lecture me about my own culture.

Agree to disagree. It's a total Plastic Paddy move.

Ireland owes much to the Irish American population forged by their ancestors. Its where the majority of the funding for the independence movement came from. America still provides work to young Irish seeking more opportunities as the Celtic tiger is no more. Yet always so quick to throw out plastic paddy insult to Americans feeling g a connection to their roots. Try reading about the Irish American experience in this country. Irish in Boston Irish in America. the experience of the Irish in America was not an easy one early on and naturally subcultures and identification with roots occurs, which travels down generations. I am an Irish American and close with my family in Ireland. The Irish I know do not care whatsoever to gatekeep Irish names and are mortified by Irish who mock Americans who want to connect with ancestral culture.

I know the actress but have never known how to pronounce her name.

It's a short name that kind of sounds like a nickname when pronounced (according to how people on this thread have said it's pronounced) so I'm not sure why it needs a nickname at all?

But anyway, go ahead and name your child what you want. Just don't feel frustrated when people don't know how to pronounce or spell it. Nothing wrong with that. Might lead to fatigue, but lots of people have names no one can pronounce or spell.

--Irish American from a family where everyone is named after a saint

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

Well one is a God and the other is a word that means "Freedom" and is fairly popular in multiple countries. So no, not quite the same.

DP but the meaning behind Saoirse is much more loaded than the simple word "freedom," but I'm guessing a person who thinks Mohammed is "a God" doesn't really care to think too deeply about her lack of understanding of other cultures.

Mohammad is a prophet, but thank you. And hey OP, go ahead and name your child whatever you want!

-daughter of a living, breathing Irish person with an Irish passport and everything. Don't lecture me about my own culture.

Agree to disagree. It's a total Plastic Paddy move.

Anonymous wrote:So if OP is Irish but not quite Irish enough to name her kids Irish names, what ethic names should she use?

Irish American names that don't have overtly political overtones. There are many.

"It's pronounced "sear (like searing meat) sha"."

Well...that's NOT how the actress Saoirse Ronan pronounces it. She says her name is SUR-sha. Sort of rhymes with inertia.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=saoirse+ronan+pronounces+her+name&type=E210US105G91207#id=1&vid=d169927925b41b4b058731881153c22d&action=click

So if OP is Irish but not quite Irish enough to name her kids Irish names, what ethic names should she use?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

1. Yes. You should know about the cultural significance of a name before you name the baby. Google is your friend.
2. I'm not sure OP understands Irish culture. Perhaps I'm wrong. But just because you are ethnically from a group doesn't mean it's your culture. Drinking green beer once a year doesn't mean you understand Irish culture.
3. To the bolded: my kids have names equivalent to Patrick and John. I think the name Dembe is a beautiful and it means Peace but that doesn't mean I should use it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

Well one is a God and the other is a word that means "Freedom" and is fairly popular in multiple countries. So no, not quite the same.

DP but the meaning behind Saoirse is much more loaded than the simple word "freedom," but I'm guessing a person who thinks Mohammed is "a God" doesn't really care to think too deeply about her lack of understanding of other cultures.

Mohammad is a prophet, but thank you. And hey OP, go ahead and name your child whatever you want!

-daughter of a living, breathing Irish person with an Irish passport and everything. Don't lecture me about my own culture.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saoirse is a bit of a loaded name and is very Irish nationalist. It only became popular there in the 1920s during the war of independence and is now the name of the newspaper of a formerly IRA-affiliated group that split with Sinn Fein during the Troubles because they thought Sinn Fein weren't militant enough.

My personal view is if you're not Irish enough to know that background, you're not Irish enough to inflict a name with that spelling and connotation onto an American kid. But I've got very strong opinions on baby naming.

+1

And what's your last name, OP? Is it Irish or Scotch-Irish? Do you know the difference? Hint- just because it starts with Mc doesn't mean it's Irish.
-American whose cousin is a Sinn Fein politician

Oh give me a break. Now you are only allowed to use names associated with your culture IF you are deeply knowledgeable about that culture? What are your kids names?

NP I agree with the previous posters- this is a very loaded name that means something. It's associated with an ideology. Like a Christian naming their kid Mohammed because it sounds cool.

Well one is a God and the other is a word that means "Freedom" and is fairly popular in multiple countries. So no, not quite the same.

DP but the meaning behind Saoirse is much more loaded than the simple word "freedom," but I'm guessing a person who thinks Mohammed is "a God" doesn't really care to think too deeply about her lack of understanding of other cultures.

Jesus you are a pedant.

Anonymous wrote:These Irish names are interesting-- would you still use it if it were spelled Sirsha or Seersha? I think the spelling intrigues moms-to-be more than the sound of the name sometimes.

In your area, are there more Siobhans than Shavonne? Or Chavonne? Shivon? Any Eefuhs? My guess is more people choose the Irish spellings, despite the fact that they make no sense to the typical American, just because it looks cool on paper.

If people did that, DCUM would rush to tell them they spelled it wrong.

“Sha”?
I didn’t know how to pronounce it until a PP explained how. As a kid with a name that’s very hard to pronounce, think about whether your child is going to appreciate this or not.

I was born right after Bloody Sunday and got the most distinctively Irish name in my family in generations. They were all Mary, Michael, Ann, etc. If you find the name personally meaningful, it's not for others to judge.