Girl's name
Saoirse
Say it SEER-shuh
Irish origin freedom
2 syllables
Where Saoirse is loved, common and rare
Common across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Rare in Scotland, England and Wales, Ontario and one more place.
1 in 114 girls born in Ireland in 2025
Ireland 17thNorthern Ireland 44thScotland 178th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 6 of the 40 official lists, among them Ireland (17th), Northern Ireland (44th) and Scotland (178th).
Show all 6 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 17th 2025 | 185 | 1 in 114 |
| Northern Ireland | 44th 2025 | 41 | 1 in 178 |
| Scotland | 178th 2025 | 23 | 1 in 778 |
| England and Wales | 402nd 2025 | 102 | 1 in 2,483 |
| Ontario province | 823rd 2024 | 14 | about 1 in 3,890 |
| Austria | 1875th 2025 | 1 | 1 in 35,722 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, British Columbia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Sources: Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria). How we count, and every source
About the name
The Irish word saoirse means 'freedom', and the name is borrowed directly from it.
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Despite its spelling, it is said SEER-shuh, two syllables. No spelling variants are listed, and the Irish spelling is used as it is.
Saoirse ranks high in Ireland and is used in Northern Ireland and Scotland, while outside these places it is very rare. The Ontario and British Columbia records first show it in 2005 and place its peak in 2016. Its data is limited, and where a trend is recorded it is slightly downward. It remains one of the clearest examples of an Irish word name with a strong, simple meaning.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- SEER-shuh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
freedom
- Origin
- Irish
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish Saoirse, from saoirse (“freedom”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: falling in 2 of 5 regions, rising in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 387 | 396 | 370 | 392 | 307 | 311 | 310 | 363 | 443 | 402 |
| Scotland | 199 | 210 | 178 | 216 | 186 | 153 | 238 | 163 | 196 | 178 |
| Northern Ireland | 56 | 74 | 46 | 41 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 37 | 37 | 44 |
| Ireland | 12 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 18 | 27 | 24 | 17 |
| Ontario | 534 | 599 | 728 | 546 | 938 | 760 | 634 | 656 | 823 | |
| British Columbia | 263 | 313 | 460 | 331 | 441 | 299 | 425 | |||
| France | 3591 | 3634 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 402 | 102 | 40.3 |
| 2024 | 443 | 95 | 36.8 |
| 2023 | 363 | 115 | 44.8 |
| 2022 | 310 | 143 | 54.3 |
| 2021 | 311 | 151 | 55.1 |
| 2020 | 307 | 151 | 56.3 |
| 2019 | 392 | 110 | 39.3 |
| 2018 | 370 | 122 | 42.3 |
| 2017 | 396 | 111 | 37.1 |
| 2016 | 387 | 118 | 38.4 |
| 2015 | 549 | 79 | 25.7 |
| 2014 | 563 | 75 | 24.5 |
| 2013 | 515 | 81 | 26.3 |
| 2012 | 738 | 54 | 16.8 |
| 2011 | 534 | 78 | 24.3 |
| 2010 | 709 | 52 | 16.2 |
| 2009 | 821 | 42 | 13.4 |
| 2008 | 722 | 49 | 15.5 |
| 2007 | 683 | 50 | 16.3 |
| 2006 | 753 | 41 | 13.7 |
| 2005 | 695 | 44 | 15.3 |
| 2004 | 840 | 32 | 11.2 |
| 2003 | 855 | 30 | 10.8 |
| 2002 | 1192 | 17 | 6.4 |
| 2001 | 765 | 32 | 11.9 |
| 2000 | 764 | 30 | 11.0 |
| 1999 | 780 | 29 | 10.3 |
| 1998 | 758 | 30 | 10.4 |
| 1997 | 736 | 32 | 10.9 |
| 1996 | 823 | 27 | 9.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Saoirse in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2017. First recorded in 2005. Her peak year there: 2016, at 51.8 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Saoirse per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2016 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Saoirse
1 in 86 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 134 in Scotland
1 in 270 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 480 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
Similar forms, not dealt separately: Kiara.
1 in 185 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 183 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 271 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
1 in 131 in Scotland
1 in 160 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Saoirse.
Middle names for Saoirse
1 in 71 in Scotland
Saoirse Olivia
2-4 beats · initials SO
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Saoirse Emily
2-3 beats · initials SE
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Saoirse Grace
2-1 beats · initials SG
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Saoirse Maria
2-3 beats · initials SM
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 88 in Scotland
Saoirse Amelia
2-4 beats · initials SA
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables.
1 in 162 in England and Wales
Saoirse Evelyn
2-3 beats · initials SE
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 325 in Ireland
Saoirse Elizabeth
2-4 beats · initials SE
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables.
1 in 175 in Ireland
Saoirse Isabelle
2-3 beats · initials SI
Changes the beat after Saoirse: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Saoirse
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 86 in Northern Ireland
97% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 607 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 106 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 942 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 160 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 183 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 131 in Scotland
91% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
91% alike: moves with Saoirse across countries and decades.
Famous people named Saoirse
Saoirse Ronan and Saoirse-Monica Jackson.
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-
Irish-American actress (born 1994)
-
Northern-Irish actress born 1993
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Saoirse
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Saoirse?
Her best rank is No. 17 in Ireland in 2025, about 1 in 114 girls. She is in the published lists of 6 of our 40 regions.
What does Saoirse mean?
Wiktionary glosses Saoirse as "freedom".
How do you pronounce Saoirse?
SEER-shuh, with 2 syllables.
Is Saoirse getting more popular?
Over five years: falling in 2 of 5 regions, rising in none.
Which sister names go with Saoirse?
The deck's top five sisters for Saoirse: Aoife, Orla, Niamh, Ciara and Arabella. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.