Saoirse (given name)

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Saoirse
Pronunciation/ˈsɪərʃə, ˈsɜːrʃə/ SEER-shə, SUR-shə
Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə]
Genderfeminine
LanguageIrish
Origin
Meaning'freedom'
The word saoirse, meaning 'freedom': inscription, Garden of Remembrance, Dublin.

Saoirse ( Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə] ;[1] anglicised /ˈsɪərʃə/, /ˈsɛərʃə/, or /ˈsɜːrʃə/[2] ) is an Irish-language predominantly female given name meaning "freedom".[3][4] It became popular in Ireland in the late 20th century.[4] The actress Saoirse Ronan has given the name prominence internationally since her 2007 breakthrough in Atonement.[5]

Statistics

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) records 1971 as the first year having more than two registered births with the name in the Republic of Ireland.[6] The first year it entered the top 100 girls' names was 1994.[6] Its top count was 355 in 2010 (rank 18th) while its top rank was 12th in 2016 (count 324).[6] In 2025 it ranked 17th, with 176 registrations.[6] The CSO has also recorded variant spellings Saoírse (max 9, in 2025) and Saorise (max 3, in 2005 and 2014).[6] The highest rank recorded by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NIRSA) has been 37th in 2023 (count 50) and 2024 (count 46).[7] NIRSA also notes isolated instances of variants Saoirise and Saoirsa, and double names such as Saoirse-Eirinn, Saoirse-Grace, Saoirse-Marie.[7]

Social Security number applications for births that occurred in the United States show Saoirse was most popular in 2020, ranking 735th with 373 births.[8] In England and Wales the name peaked the same year, in 307th place with 151 registrations.[9] In Scotland the peak year was 2021 (153rd place, count 29).[10]

People

Fictional characters

  • Saoirse, a little girl in the 2014 film Song of the Sea
  • Saoirse, a guardian spirit in the 2017 videogame Nioh
  • Saoirse, a woman in "Natural Justice", the first episode of the Irish television series Single-Handed.

See also

References

  1. "English-Irish: freedom". Foclóir. Foras na Gaeilge. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  2. Thorpe, Vanessa. "Saoirse Ronan: teen talent that grew into true stardom". The Observer. Retrieved 2 March 2026. "You actually say it Sairsha," she has explained. "But you can also say it Sersha, or Seersha."
  3. Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977). "saoirse2". Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (in Irish). www.teanglann.ie.
  4. Ó Séaghdha, Darach (3 March 2022). "The Irish For: The rise of Rían - the latest baby names in Ireland". thejournal.ie. The Journal. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  5. Bramhil, Nick (29 December 2017). "Baby name Saoirse doubles in popularity in the US... but expect phoneticised spellings like Seersha". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  6. "Baby Names of Ireland". Interactive Data Visualisations. CSO Ireland. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  7. "First Forenames Given to Babies Registered in Northern Ireland, 1997 to 2024" (XLSX). Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 16 April 2025. Table 2 row 42, and Table 4 rows 14031 to 14043. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  8. "Popular Baby Names". Social Security Administration. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  9. Powell-Smith, Anna. "Saoirse". Baby name explorer based on Office for National Statistics data. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  10. "Babies First Names 2024". National Records of Scotland. 20 March 2025. All names given to babies between 1974 to 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2026.