Susan

English diminutive of Susannah, Hebrew

"lily"

Susan Origin and Meaning

The name Susan is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lily".

Although Susan had her heyday from the thirties to the sixties, and is now common among moms and new grandmas, and though most modern parents would prefer Susanna/Susannah, we have spotted some flickers of interest in a revival. It still retains a certain black-eyed-Susan freshness.

Susan has a substantial literary resume, including appearances in George Eliot's Mill on the Floss, Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude the Obscure, and Charlotte Bronte's Shirley.

Susan's many nicknames include Sue, Susie, Suzy, Sukie, and Zuzu—many of which have been celebrated in song. Among Susan's notable namesakes are activist Susan B. Anthony, writer Sontag, and actress Sarandon.

Susan Rank in US Top 1000

# 963 in the US

Susan Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 193 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Susan

• 963 US 2017
• 193 Nameberry 2025
• 120 Unique 2023

20 Names Similar to Susan

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Susan.

• Patricia
• Deborah
• Pamela
• Barbara
• Suzanne
• Diane
• Janet
• Judy
• Gloria
• Paula
• Carol
• Pauline
• Donna
• Ellen
• Lisa
• Linda
• Paulina
• Marianne
• Karen
• Jill

Famous People Named Susan

• Susan Brownell Anthony American suffragist
• Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner) American actress
• Susan Nicole Downey American film producer, wife of actor Robert Downey
• Susan Hampshire Lady Kulukundis, English actress
• Susan Jaffe American ballerina
• Susanna "Susan" Kohner American actress
• Susan Victoria Lucci American actress
• Susan Sessions Zuccotti American Holocaust historian
• Susan Margaret Collins U.S. Senator from Maine
• Susan Vreeland American novelist
• Susan Bennett American voice artist of Apple's Siri
• Susan Branch American cookbook author
• Susan Abigail Sarandon American actress
• Susan Solomon American atmospheric chemist
• Susan Cabot (born Harriet Shapiro) American actress
• Susan Scott Rae Scottish TV anchor
• Susan Melody George English actress
• Susan Horowitz Cain American author and psychologist
• (Marian) Susan Maughan English singer
• Susan Rothenberg American painter
• Susan Jacoby American author
• Susan Jeffers American psychologist and author
• Susan Ashton (born Susan Rae Hill) American Christian singer
• Susan Sontag American author
• Susan Flannery American actress
• Susan C. Faludi American journalist and author
• Susan Michaela Sullivan American actress
• Susan Oliver (born Charlotte Gercke) American actress
• Susan Hallock Dey American actress
• Susan Orlean American journalist and author
• Zsuzsanna "Susan" Polgar Hungarian,American chess champion and author
• Susan Powter Australian nutritionist, author and TV host
• Susan Tedeschi American blues musician
• Susan Jillian Tyrrell American actress
• Susan L. Taylor American magazine journalist and editor
• Susan Graham American operatic mezzo,soprano
• Susan Melinda Yeagley American actress
• Susan Ursitti American actress
• Susan Isaacs American novelist
• Susan E. Isaacs American actress
• Susan Wiggs American novelist
• Susan Cheever American novelist, daughter of novelist John Cheever
• Susan Elizabeth Phillips American novelist
• Susan Farrell Egan American actress and singer
• Susan Elizabeth Rice U.S. National Security Adviser
• Susan Lisa Rosenberg American radical
• Susan Ann Sulley English singer of The Human League
• Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller) American actress
• Susan Coolidge pen name of American children's author Sarah Chauncey Woolsey
• Susan Littler English actress
• Susan Jane Helms American astronaut
• Susan Marie Olsen American actress
• Susan Magdalane Boyle Scottish singer
• Susan McFadden Irish singer/actress
• Susan Cookson English actress
• Susan Diane Wojcicki American businesswoman and CEO of YouTube
• Susan Elizabeth Ford Bales daughter of U.S. President Gerald Ford
• Susan "Susie" Essman American comedienne and actress
• Susan Grace Calman Scottish comedian
• Janet Susan Mary "Viva" Hoffman American actress
• Susan Eloise "S.E." Hinton American novelist
• Susan Fromberg Schaeffer American novelist
• Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro English singer,songwriter and bassist
• Susan Martha "Susie" McEntire American Christian singer
• Susan Kay "Suzy" Bogguss American country music singer
• Susan Elizabeth "Suzy" Amis American actress, wife of director James Cameron
• Linda Susan Agar elder daughter of child star Shirley Temple
• Susan Estrich an American lawyer, professor, author, political operative, feminist advocate, and political commentator for Fox News
• Susan Harris American television comedy writer and producer, creator of "The Golden Girls"
• Susan Peters American actress
• Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver American actress
• Susan Mikula American photographer/artist
• Susan Debra Schofield Cabana, mother of January Schofield

The name Susan in Pop Culture

• Susan Pevensie character in the Chronicles of Narnia series
• Susan Keane main character on TV's "Suddenly Susan"
• Susan Frankenstein character in movie "Frankenweenie"
• Susan Bones character in the Harry Potter series
• Susan Bunch character on TV's "Friends"
• Susan Calvin character in the I, Robot Series
• Susan Cresswell character on TV's "I'm Alan Partridge"
• Susan Delgado character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series
• Susan Fischer character on TV's "Orange is the New Black"
• Susan Ivanova character on TV show "Babylon 5"
• Susan Foreman character on TV's "Doctor Who"
• Susan Kennedy character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
• Susan Cole character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
• Susan Mayer character on TV's "Desperate Housewives"
• Susan Moore character on American soap opera "General Hospital"
• Susan Murphy aka Ginormica character in animated movie "Monsters vs. Aliens"
• Susan Ross character on TV's "Seinfeld"
• Susan "Sue" Storm aka The Invisible Woman character in Fantastic Four comics
• Susan Ashwood character in the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz
• Susan Mortlake character in the Power of Five series
• Susan Wainwright character in "The Sims 3" computer game
• Susan "LaF" LaFontaine character on TV's "Camilla"
• Susan Elinor "Suellen" O'Hara Benteen character in "Gone with the Wind"
• Susan Vance character in "Bringing Up Baby"
• Susan Mullucks thalidomide baby on TV's "Call the midwife"
• "To Susan on the West Coast Waiting," song by Donovan
• Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization
• Lazy Susan rotating table tray
• Black eyed Susan, flower
• Susan Lewis character on TV's "ER"
• Susan Elizabeth Walker character in 1994 remake of "Miracle on 34th Street"
• Susan Heffley a character from Diary of a Wimpy Kid

International Variations of the name Susan

• Susanne German
• Zuzana Czech
• Syuzanna Russian
• Susanita Spanish
• Susana Portuguese
• Zsuzsa Hungarian
• Suzanne French
• Zsuzsi Hungarian
• Suzette French
• Suse German
• Zsazsa Hungarian
• Suzana Slavic
• Zuzanna Latvian
• Zsuzsanna Hungarian
• Susann Swedish