Susan
Hebrew Shoshannah, “lily” or “lotus.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
From the Hebrew for 'lily'; for the entire 1950s it sat among the top few girls' names.
Susan appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in 55 different years between 1880 and 1984. It spent 24 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1955, when 47,418 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 5 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1957, at No. 2. All told, 1,126,022 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Suzanne (219,801), Susanne (26,094), Suzan (9,081), Suzann (4,034), Susann (3,097), Suzzanne (724) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Sue, Susie
Explore Susan interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,231 | No. 79 |
| 1890s | 3,612 | No. 106 |
| 1900s | 3,447 | No. 144 |
| 1910s | 6,814 | No. 167 |
| 1920s | 8,408 | No. 210 |
| 1930s | 21,028 | No. 44 |
| 1940s | 212,016 | No. 5 |
| 1950s | 437,774 | No. 2 |
| 1960s | 287,666 | No. 2 |
| 1970s | 88,308 | No. 15 |
| 1980s | 30,549 | No. 62 |
| 1990s | 10,893 | No. 172 |
| 2000s | 5,323 | No. 409 |
| 2010s | 3,051 | No. 765 |
| 2020s | 1,361 | No. 972 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.