Susan
Susan was the 1091st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 222 babies. Its best year was 1957, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1955 (47,418). Over the last ten years it has moved down 178 places. More babies were named Susan in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning lily (from Susanna) · Hebrew, Egyptian
Say it SOO-zun /ˈsuzən/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,091 girls, down 116 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 222girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 195547,418 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,126,022babies recorded
What does the name Susan mean?
Susan is the English form of Susanna, from Hebrew Shoshannah 'lily' (DMNES adds 'rose'), a word that Wiktionary traces further back to Egyptian. In the apocryphal additions to Daniel, Susanna is a virtuous woman falsely accused, and another Susanna follows Jesus in Luke 8:3. DMNES records the name in England from the 12th century, though it was not common until the 16th. Susan was a top girls' name in the US in the 1950s and 1960s.
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah) (Biblical Hebrew, “lily”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Susanna, Suzanne, Sue, Susie, Shoshana.
See also: Hebrew names, names that mean flower.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Susan', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Susan', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Susan
The usual nicknames for Susan are Sue, Susie and Suzy. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Susan in the last five years, 40 were named Susie, against 14 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sue | Traditional | #9,387 | 43 |
| Susie · also for Sue | Traditional | #1,922 | 435 |
| Suzy | Traditional | #5,888 | 94 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Susans go by each one.
Susan popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 2,541 since 1897.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,091 | 222 |
| 2020 | #975 | 262 |
| 2010 | #772 | 356 |
| 2000 | #409 | 693 |
| 1990 | #172 | 1,687 |
| 1980 | #62 | 4,704 |
| 1970 | #15 | 15,738 |
| 1960 | #2 | 39,208 |
| 1950 | #5 | 38,017 |
| 1940 | #36 | 6,756 |
| 1930 | #192 | 1,003 |
| 1920 | #225 | 850 |
| 1910 | #173 | 395 |
| 1900 | #144 | 410 |
| 1890 | #115 | 354 |
| 1880 | #80 | 286 |
How popular is Susan, counting every spelling?
Susan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #849 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,091 for Susan on its own. Together these spellings went to 311 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susan | 222 | #1,091 | 1,099 |
| Suzanne | 75 | #2,407 | 319 |
| Susanne | 8 | #11,815 | 43 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Susan?
222 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Susan (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Susan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 38 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Susan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Susan?
About 860,300 people born in the US named Susan are alive today, with a median age of 68; half are between 61 and 74. That makes Susan a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Susan by state
How common Susan was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Pennsylvania (4.5×), Ohio (2.2×), Indiana (2.1×), Wisconsin (1.9×), Michigan (1.6×). In 25 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Susan: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Susan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Susan · Sibling names for Susan
Questions about the name Susan
What does Susan mean?
Susan means “lily (from Susanna)” (Hebrew, Egyptian origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Susan?
Susan was the 1091st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 222 babies. Its best year was 1957, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1955 (47,418). Over the last ten years it has moved down 178 places. More babies were named Susan in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Susan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Susan in the US.
Where is Susan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Susan was most common in Pennsylvania (0.61 per 1,000 girls), followed by Ohio and Indiana.