Susan

Meaning: Lily
Origin: Hebrew — English form of Susanna

Nicknames: Susie, Suzy, Suzi, Suzie, Su

Girl's name · #1091 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Susan belongs to an older America first — it reached #2 back in 1957 — yet it still appears in today's records at #1091. About 1.1 million girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Susan is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 22 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Susan ranks in other countries and regions.

#895 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,373 in Canada (2025) · #2,440 in England & Wales (2025) · #3,588 in Austria (2024) · #856 in Ireland (2023) · #2,906 in Italy (2023) · #7,265 in France (2023) · #760 in Scotland (2022) · #2,325 in Sweden (2022) · #504 in Poland (2020) · #432 in N. Ireland (2017) · #895 in Netherlands (2015) and 5 more.

Famous Susans

Susan Sarandon — American actor (born 1946)
Susan Sontag — American writer, critic and philosophy lecturer (1933–2004)
Susan B. Anthony — American women's rights activist (1820–1906)
Susan Boyle — British singer (born 1961)
Susan Hayward — American actress (1917–1975)
Susan Collins — United States Senator from Maine since 1997 (born 1952)
Susan Wojcicki — American business executive (1968–2024)
Susan Rice — American politician and diplomat (born 1964)
Susan Polgar — Hungarian chess player (born 1969)
Susan Strasberg — American actress and author (1938–1999)

In stories & tradition

Susan (Invisible Woman) — Fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics
Susan Pevensie — Fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia
Susan Mayer — Fictional character on Desperate Housewives

What Susans become

Among 3,747 notable people named Susan:

Scientists & scholars appear 1.57× more often than among typical names — e.g. Susan Sontag, American writer, critic and philosophy lecturer (1933–2004).

Spellings & nicknames

Earlier generations knew Sue — the standard of the 1950s. About 87 girls a year are given Susie as their full name.

Similar names: Susannah · Cynthia · Suttyn · Nancy · Karen · Sharon

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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