With two Oscar-nominated performances in Atonement and Brooklyn under her belt, there’s just one thing stopping Saoirse Ronan becoming a household name: how you pronounce it.
Her traditional Gaelic name certainly has a lot of vowels, leading some to call her “Say-orsey” or even “Sow-erse.” Even people with the name disagree, with some pronouncing it “Seer-she” and others (like this Saoirse) pronouncing it “Ser-she.”
Oh, let’s call the whole thing off.
The confusion over Saoirse’s name reached such a height, her Lost River director Ryan Gosling stepped in to clear things up, prompting her to call him a “blond Canadian Jesus”.
If you’re still not sure, then Saoirse herself has taken the opportunity to teach us how to pronounce her name during her stint as host on SNL on Saturday (December 2). And to make it even more memorable, she came up with a song:
Got it? Good. It’s simple: “Ser-she” as in “inertia.”
The lesson is just in the nick of time too, as Saoirse’s profile looks set to become even bigger in the next year. As well as her lead role in Lady Bird, which is in theaters now, she’s also due to star in film adaptations of On Chesil Beach and Chekhov’s The Seagull, as well as taking the titular role in the upcoming historical drama Mary, Queen of Scots.
So, if you get practicing the song now, you’ll be ready to drop Saoirse’s name into conversation in no time.
What did you think of Saoirse as SNL host?