I always think of Soren Lorenson from Charlie and Lola. Soren + Lorenson has a nice sound to it because it rhymes. I live in the USA, so I've never really heard the name Soren, but I do like it. I would recommend it for a little boy. :)
Our son's name is Soren, and when I'm speaking to Americans, I pronounce his name 'SOAR-en', but when I'm speaking Swedish or in English to Swedish speakers, I use the Swedish pronunciation, which sounds more like 'SIRR-en'. He responds to both pronunciations.
Pronounced Sir/n or Ser/n... like the word "Sir" with "nnn" sound at the end. I find that if people find it hard to understand, I just tell them "So (long o sound) Ren" is fine.
I was friends with a Danish Søren who lived in Denmark, was born there, etc., and he pronounced his own name SOR-in (with the first syllable stressed and rhyming with SOAR/SORE (English lexical set "force", for you phonetics junkies out there) and the second syllable unstressed and pronounced more as a "schwa" sound or a dipthong from a more rounded schwa (English lexical set "strut", to a short, close, flat "i", (English lexical set "kit") or somewhere between the two. Obviously any name can be said with different stress or lengthening or shortening of vowel sounds based on context, emotion, etc. We don't always pronounce our OWN names the same way every time.That said, I have recently encountered the name Søren in an audio book, and the American (GenAm) narrator pronounces it "Sir-in" with the first syllable being in the English lexical set "lettER", and that just doesn't sound right to me, given my close association with a Danish Søren who did NOT pronounce it that way.She probably looked up the pronunciation on Forvo or something, I don't know. But it would seem that northern European countries where this name is more common have a variety of acceptable pronunciations, as in English with names like "Anne", which I have heard variously pronounced by their owners as "Ann", "Annie", "Ah-nah" and "Ah-neh" in America.I like the name Søren quite a bit, but less when it is pronounced with a SIR as opposed to a SOAR.
This is one of my favourite boy's names and I want to one day have a son called Soren.
― Anonymous User 11/29/2015
2
There was a little kid at my brother's school named Soren and my dad couldn't stop laughing because it reminded him of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings.
Ugh, a modern name. It doesn't even sound cool... It sounds like soarin'. Which does not sound like a name in any way.
― Anonymous User 2/18/2013
-22
To the user above who said, "ugh, a modern name": This has actually been around for some time in Scandinavia. Ever heard of the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard? He lived and died in the 1800's. How about Søren Norby? He died in 1530. Next time before commenting, you should read a little.
― Anonymous User 2/26/2016
22
I like how it looks and sounds; it doesn't matter to me if it's pronounced Soren or Siren, I like it anyway. I would consider using it despite my location (USA) where it's not common.
I think of Lola's imaginary friend Soren Lorenson in the Charlie and Lola books by Lauren Child. I like the name Soren. I pronounce it how it looks, but I suppose that's because English is my first language. Soren sort of makes me think of 'sorrow' but I like the name anyway.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher, existentialist and author of many books although he used pseudonyms at the time. His best know book is arguably "Either/Or."
I LOVE this name! And that is why I chose to name my first born son Soren. It's a very masculine name and my son is very handsome and intelligent, I think it suits him. :) As for pronunciation, we say SOR-en. Just like it looks.
I have a friend named Soren, without the umlaut. I'm from Belgium, and here the name is pronounced like Sooren, in Dutch pronunciation. It's not like the English one.
Ylva left a comment about the pronunciation of Sören, which was correct. Obviously if you anglicize the name and drop the umlaut it will be pronounced differently, more like in sorry.
Source: https://forebears.io/x/forenames/søren