ninan.org

Susan

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~900,000 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,085 among girls
Births in 2025
222 1,126,022 since 1880
Typical age
67 years, median

Susan popularity over time

Susan rank by birth year, 1880–2025Susan ranked #80 in 1880 and #1,085 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #2, in 1957.#10#100#1,000#1,085best #2 in 195718901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Susan in 1955 than in any other year — 47,483 of them. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Across the record, 55 years put Susan in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #1,085 with 222 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 26%. Year on year the rank improved by 35.

Babies named Susan per yearPeaks at 47,483 births in 1955.47,483 in 1955018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Susan?

About 900,000 people named Susan are alive in the United States today. That is out of 1,126,022 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Susan?

Median age among living Susans: 67. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Susan a mid-century perennial name.

Your Susan

Ages of living people named SusanHalf of living Susans are older than 67 and half younger.median 67020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Susan is most common

Susan is 3.9× as common in Pennsylvania as it is nationally. Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana follow.

Where Susan is used more than average5 states use the name Susan more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.9× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 1.5× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 1.7× the national rateINOhio: 2.1× the national rateOHPennsylvania: 3.9× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Susan is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 283 3.9×
Ohio 154 2.1×
Wisconsin 61 1.9×
Indiana 74 1.7×
New York 186 1.5×

Susan in England and Wales

ONS recorded 11 births named Susan in 2025, ranking it #2,440.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Susan comes from

English form of the biblical Susanna, from Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (“lily”), ultimately.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Susan

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Susan Sarandon American actress and activist 1946 102
Susan Sontag American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist 1933–2004 93
Susan B. Anthony American women's rights activist 1820–1906 90
Susan Boyle British singer 1961 80
Susan Hayward American actress 1917–1975 61
Susan Wojcicki American business executive (1968–2024) Former CEO of YouTube 1968–2024 60
Susan Collins United States Senator from Maine since 1997 1952 48
Susan Rice American diplomat and policy advisor 1964 46
Photo credits (6)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/susan.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).