girl's name
Saoirse
SEER-sha
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 14,849
Ireland
#18
2025 births
Saoirse is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "freedom" or "liberty." Unusually for a first name it comes from a political abstraction rather than a person or place, and it entered use in the 1920s after Irish independence.
- Saoirse is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2010, when 355 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 255 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1971.
Saoirse over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 28 |
| 1980s | 76 |
| 1990s | 798 |
| 2000s | 2,101 |
| 2010s | 2,860 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,136 |
What Saoirse means
Saoirse means freedom, or liberty. It is an ordinary Irish noun rather than an inherited personal name, and it was chosen precisely for what the word means.
Where Saoirse comes from
Saoirse is the Irish word for freedom, from saor, free, which itself descends from a root meaning to be released. It has no history as a name before the twentieth century: it came into use in the 1920s, in the years around the War of Independence and the founding of the Free State, as a straightforwardly patriotic choice, and it appeared on republican banners and mastheads long before it appeared on birth certificates. That makes it one of a small group of names that can be dated to a political moment. Its pronunciation causes constant trouble outside Ireland — SEER-sha, two syllables — and the actor Saoirse Ronan has spent much of her career correcting interviewers, which has probably done more to teach the name than any other single factor.
Saoirse in use
Saoirse ranked 18th in Ireland in 2025 with 176 births. It travels better than most Irish-language names: 402 in England and Wales, 1,088 in the United States, and 37 in Northern Ireland. Its American peak came in 2020, four years after Saoirse Ronan's second Academy Award nomination and the year after her fourth.
How popular is Saoirse?
In 2025, Saoirse was given to 176 babies in Ireland, ranking #18 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Saoirse is used
Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.
How Saoirse is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Saoírse | Saoírse is a rare spelling of Saoirse, written with a fada and recorded 28 times, mostly in Ireland. | 28 |
Names that peaked alongside Saoirse
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Saoirse also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Saoirse over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Saoirse in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Saoirse
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Saoirse — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Saoirse
What does the name Saoirse mean?
Saoirse means "freedom" or "liberty." It is the ordinary Irish word for freedom.
How do you pronounce Saoirse?
SEER-sha, two syllables. The aoi spells a single long vowel.
How old is the name Saoirse?
It only came into use in the 1920s, around Irish independence, making it one of the few names datable to a political moment.
Is Saoirse used outside Ireland?
Yes, more than most Irish-language names — it ranks 402 in England and Wales and 1,088 in the United States.
How popular is the name Saoirse?
In 2025, Saoirse was given to 176 babies in Ireland, ranking #18 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Saoirse a girl's or a boy's name?
Saoirse is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Saoirse?
Saoirse has 2 syllables.
When was Saoirse most popular?
Saoirse peaked in 2010, when 355 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Saoirse a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Saoirse currently ranks #18 in Ireland. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.