Saoirse (given name)
Name list
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saoirse ( Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə] ⓘ;[1] anglicised /ˈsɪərʃə/, /ˈsɛərʃə/, or /ˈsɜːrʃə/[2] ) is an Irish-language unisex 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]
Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə]
| Pronunciation | /ˈsɪərʃə, ˈsɜːrʃə/ SEER-shə, SUR-shə Irish: [ˈsˠiːɾˠʃə] |
|---|---|
| Gender | unisex |
| Language | Irish |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | 'freedom' |
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
- Saoirse McHugh (born 1990), Irish-American environmentalist
- Saoirse-Monica Jackson (born 1993), Northern Irish actress
- Saoirse Ronan (born 1994), Irish and American actress
- Saoirse Noonan (born 1999), Irish footballer
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.
