Name in the news: Soile

I just spotted the name Soile in an article about the ban on crucifixes in Italian public schools.

Soile isn’t Italian, but Finnish. It’s a female name, pronounced SOY-leh, that refers to the northern lights.

It’s not common in Finland; only a handful of Finnish baby girls are named Soile (or Soila, or Soili) every year. Two notable bearers are lyric soprano Soile Isokoski (b. 1957) and former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen (b. 1977).

Sources: Nordic Names, Wiktionary, New York Times, Population Register Centre

One thought on “Name in the news: Soile

  1. I’m all about the Scandinavian names, but the intuitive English pronunciation would be Soil or Soil-ee. Not loving this one.

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