Female Finnish name

[davejohn]

I just have a question about the spelling of a female name. I met this awesome Finnish girl at a bar who said her name is pronounced in English as Syria(like the place) but she said the spelling of it in Finnish apparently has the letter G in it. I have no idea how I would spell this. How would I spell this name? Is it a common name? I'd like to friend her on Facebook but don't know what to search for.

Can anyone help?

Dave.

[Virankannos]

If it is a native (or nativised) Finnish name, it shouldn't have a G in it, as it is a foreign sound in Finnish. Perhaps she said or meant J instead of G? In that case the names Sirja and Sirje come to mind. You could also try Siiri, but it sounds less like Syria compared to the previous ones.

Anyhow, I wish you luck in your search!

[Varislintu]

Yeah, my guess is also that she meant Sirja, with a j.

[Varislintu]

Because j in Finnish is called jii ("yee") and she probably thought/remembered that the letter name is similar in English, thus telling you it's a gee, when she meant jay.

/complicated explanation

[MillMaths]

I once met a(n awesome) Finnish girl at Haweswater RSPB nature reserve in Cumbria, England, UK. I was there as a conservation volunteer while she came over from Finland as an ecology student at a polytechnic in Hämeenlinna. Does the name sound familiar to you? Well, it should, because that place is the birthplace of the great composer Jean Sibelius.

Her name? Well, it also had a jii in it. In fact, the very day we met – Saturday 7 October 1995 – was her Finnish name day (nimipäivä). And her name was … Pirjo.