Susan

Derived from an ancient botanical root meaning lily, the name passed through Greek and Latin into Old French as Suzanne. English speakers favored the contracted form Susan by the late sixteenth century. It crossed the Atlantic with early English colonists, establishing an enduring presence on parish records before midcentury parents turned it into a fixture of suburban elementary schools.

The name reads as someone who grew up alongside station wagons, rotary telephones, and community bake sales that ran precisely on schedule. With about sixty-eight percent of living bearers belonging to the baby boom generation, the record places the average Susan at sixty-six years old. In 1955, annual registrations peaked at over forty-seven thousand births, securing the fifth spot nationwide. By 2025, that annual count had dwindled to 222, making the name an uncommon sound on preschool playgrounds. Today it is encountered almost exclusively on property deeds, committee rosters, and envelopes with preprinted return address labels.