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Sorcha

#13,011 in 2025Girls' name

Light, radiant

Sorcha has been given to 265 babies in the U.S. since 1989. In 2025 it ranked #13,011 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2010, with 15 recorded.

Babies named Sorcha, 2025

1 in 474,000

Sorcha over time, 1880–2025

Girls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Sorcha: meaning, origin, and history

Light, radiant

Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Old Irish

What Sorcha means

Sorcha means “light, radiant”, associated with Sorcha.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Borrowed from Irish and Scottish Gaelic Sorcha (literally “light, radiant”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Sorcha (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Sorcha is used in English, Irish, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. Its origins include Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Old Irish.

Sorcha comes through ga,gd Sorcha.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Claire.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Sorcha is pronounced /ˈsɔːɹkə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 265 girls were recorded with the name Sorcha between 1989 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 15 in 2010; its best national rank was #8,060 in 1994.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #17,199 in 2020 to #13,011 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #14,322 in 2015 to #13,011 in 2025.

How common is Sorcha?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 474,000
7 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 230,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#13,011
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
328,272 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Sorcha sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 328,272 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Sorcha. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Sorchas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Sorcha was born before 2007 — so the typical Sorcha is around 18 today.

Median birth year
2007
About 18 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
35.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
72.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
265
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 35.1% of all recorded uses (93).

Is Sorcha rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
+4,188
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,311
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.00×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
46.7%
Peak was 2010 (15)
Years since peak
15
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
33.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#8,060
1994

Spellings of Sorcha

Sorcha is not the most common spelling — Dortha is, with 19.5% against Sorcha's 0.76%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Sorcha around the world

Where Sorcha ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1979–2025
    #324
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    1997–2024
    #253
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    1968–2025
    #273
    in 2025
  • France
    1991–2014
    #6,611
    in 2014
  • Canada
    2017–2017
    #2,395
    in 2017
  • South Australia
    1977–2009
    #818
    in 2009

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Sorcha by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#13,011
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 4,188
Best rank ever
#8,060
1994
Peak year
2010
15 that year
First recorded
1989
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
265
Count in 2025
7

Names similar to Sorcha

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

SoriyaSoriahSorayahSoriyahSorrelSoraiyaSimchaSorenSorinaSorelleSoraiaBruchaSorahSorynBrochaSoreyaAlichaErichaMarchaSorshaPaschaSoraidaTaschaMenucha

Sibling names for Sorcha

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Sorcha

Top names of 2010, Sorcha's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 1994Girls' names starting with SIrish Girl Names