Name of the Day: Susannah
While Susan seems dated circa 2008, we are charmed by this frillier elaboration, which just happens to hew closer to the original version of the name, too.
Thanks to Kim for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Susannah.
As with many given names, Susannah goes back at least as far as the Old Testament, but has done quite a bit of morphing over the years. In Hebrew, shoshan meant lily. In Persian, the flower was called sausan. Both may relate to an Ancient Egyptian botanical name, but then again, maybe not – some argue that the name comes from a related word meaning joyful.
The Hebrew is normally written Shoshannah; the Greek, Sousana. Strictly speaking, Susanna is the favored English translation, but we find the “h” version more appealing.
Susannah sounds like a good girl, and indeed her tale is one of virtue. A pair of Peeping Toms spy on her in the bath, and come demanding favors or else they’ll sully her good name. She tells the Toms no dice, and is willing to face death – these were the days when a bad reputation was truly dangerous. Just as things look bleak, enter Daniel. (It’s his book of the Bible in which the story appears.) Daniel performs a cross examination worthy of a modern courtroom drama, and the Toms’ tale collapses. They’re put to death for lying, and Susannah – her virtue intact – goes free.
While you won’t find her story in every Bible – some parts of Daniel were stricken during the Protestant Reformation – it was well enough known to keep the name in occasional use through the Middle Ages. In the 1600s, Susannah gained favor, though was soon eclipsed by the simplified Susan.
Plenty of poets, painters and composers have been captivated by the Biblical tale, but the strongest musical association is with Stephen Foster’s 1848 hit Oh! Susanna, popularly associated with the California Gold Rush, which started right as the song took off.
Despite the folk ballad and the Biblical references, Susanna and Susannah have not been smash hits in recent centuries. Instead, Susan has dominated the popularity charts, ranking in the Top Ten from 1945 to 1968. The French Suzanne placed in the Top 100 most of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The relatively obscure Susanna left the rankings entirely in 1997; Susannah has been gone since 1979!
Today, Susannah seems surprisingly vibrant. If Isabella can top the charts, why not this equally feminine choice? She benefits from easy translation into virtually any Western tongue and a raft of nicknames, including:
- The obvious Sue;
- The popular Susie, Suzie, Suzy and so on;
- The slightly offbeat Sukie or Suki – which is sometimes confused with a Japanese word;
- The unexpected Sanna, Sanne – contracted forms more common in Northern Europe;
- The exotic, Slavic Zsu Zsu and Zsa Zsa – perhaps too much for an American girl;
- Our personal favorite, Zuzu – as in It’s a Wonderful Life’s Zuzu Bailey – a balance between the daring Zsu Zsu and the more common Suzy.
While there is the potential for spelling headaches with this one, Susannah offers a choice that is just different enough to distinguish your daughter from the current crop of Samanthas and Alexandras. We think it would wear well on a modern child – upbeat but old school, familiar and yet uncommon all at once.
Filed under: Biblical Babes, Last But Not Least: Z Names, Names for Girls, Names of the Day | 10 Comments
Tags: Sanna, Sanne, Sue, Suki, Sukie, Susan, Susanna, Susannah, Susie, Suzanne, Suzie, Suzy, Zsa Zsa, Zsu Zsu, Zuzu
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I love it, I love it, I love it. It has long been a favorite of mine – and I’m surprised to see that it’s not on the SSA list at all anymore, with or without the H. I thought it was more common, but I guess I was wrong. I also kind of like Suzanne, but given my distaste for Zs in names, I probably wouldn’t go that route. Sukie is a great nickname, but seems a little dated – the only Sukies I know are 40 and 60 years old!
Well, I’m partial to Susanne, as I spell it (as did my mother’s best friend, whose name I got). The “Z” looks funny there, to my eye. *shug* I’m odd, I know.
Susanna/h is lovely and miles better than simple (but dated) Susan. I prefer Susanna, as she looks crisper, cleaner and less clunky. That final ‘h’ ruins things a lot for me, I prefer ‘h’ in a name up front (Philippa, Henrietta) or in the middle (Josephine, Mathilda) but at the end, she trips me up visually.
All that asde, I do like Susanna/h, she’s spritely, fresh & sweet. I like Sukie as a nickname (Witches of Eastwick, Michelle Pheiffer plays Sukie Ridgemont) and that’s where I learned to like it. Zuzu as always remains my favorite of her nicknames though, not because of “It’s a Wonderful Life (Although Clarence, George & Zuzu are all on my list, I swear, I hate that movie!)
But I also like Zsa Zsa & Zsu Zsu, they fit my maternal line very well. I’d at least think of Zsu Zsu/Zuzu for when she’s little (much like I did with Fifi for Josephine).
I was thinking about possibly using Susanna/h to honor my MIL (whose real full name is Pandora Saskia surname. I Love Saskia but it clashes not only with the surname, but also with Josephine, and since my MIL also goes by Sue (I don’t understand but *shrug” it’s her choice). But Susanna/h doesn’t appeal enough to me for actual use. When I try to play around with combos for Susanna/h, I wear out, drift off & forget about her, so I’ve put her on the “Potential List for Grandkids” I have going. (My boys are namenerds themselves and Josie shows signs .. her latest teddy? Cornelius [I think because she overheard Cornelius while listening to "The Fifth Element" which plays about once every other week at my house. I love that film!]) And I keep a list of family related names for them as well as names that have appealed to me over time but ddn’t use for whatever reason. I hope it’ll actually get used!
I’d love to see someone else use Susanna/h, she’s a fantastic name!
I first fell in love with the name Susanna as a child reading “Susanna of the Alamo.” (I’m from Texas, so if you’ve never heard of it, don’t feel bad). Susanna Dickinson and her infant daughter Angelina Elizabeth (another name I love!) were the only two Texan survivors of the 13-day attack on the Alamo by Mexican troops. Their story is heartbreaking, but the name sounds strong yet feminine, and has a pioneer-style to my ear.
I personally adore Susannah, and hope to use it to honour my aunt, Suzanne. All of my aunts have French names (despite the fact that they’re 100% Italian) — Suzanne, Claudette, Denise, & Genevieve.
Regarding the name Susannah nn Zuzu, I think it’s the cutest thing in the world! I’m not sure how much Zuzu works for an older woman, but I personally think it’s not mature enough. If I were a Susannah, I’d go by Zuzu until high school, but once college comes I’d be the total Susannah.
I was wondering if you’re still taking suggestions for name of the day I’ve got a personal name list a mile long which I’d really love to see as NoTDs. If you’re looking for anything to fill some calendar days, I’d LOVE to help
I like Susannah, but more for personal reasons than a passionate love of the name itself. My mother’s name is Susan and my middle name is (or was before I got married and replaced it with my maiden name) Suzanne. I thought Susannah would make a lovely heirloom to pass on someday. Do you think it’d be possibly to pull the “anne/anna” syllable out of Susannah as a nickname?
Susanna is my favourite of all the Susan variations, it looks fresh and to borrow Lola’s adjective: sprightly. The H in Susannah is one step too far for me and I’m not remotely into any other variations on the theme, neither Suzanne/a nor the dated, frumpy sounding Susan (a lot of my school teachers were Sue’s).
On Susanna’s side is her lack of age – like Vanessa, Helena and Miranda – she defies age and sounds at once classical yet fresh. For me, her main drawback is the potential nicknames Suzie and Sukie – which just reminds me of the nursery rhyme where ”Sukie puts the kettle on’!
Kim, Anne/Anna is by far the nicest nickname for Susannah and I think in the instance you describe, Susanah would be a lovely ‘heirloom’ name to pass on…
I like Susannah too. Interestingly, only Susannah. Not Susanna, Susanah, Susan or Suzanne.
Corinne, I’m always looking for NotD ideas! I don’t have a decent system for taking requests or posting an upcoming calendar to the site … both are on my to-do list! So just feel free to shout them out in a comment – any comment! – and I’ll incorporate them as I can.
Lola, here’s wishing you a fabulously named grandchild someday!
BTW, your Leo is on the list for 10/20 and Josephine for 10/11.
Kim, I’m sure you could pull the Anne/Anna out of Susannah! Of course, there’s also Sanna, which I disliked when I first heard, until I realized it tracked back to this lovely name.
And Katharine, you’re right – Susannah doesn’t age.
Another, I’m sure this one feels common because it’s in pop culture – Oh! Susanna and so on. Plus *all* those Susans, Suzannes and so on.
Dana, what a heartbreaking story! But it does give the name more of that pioneer, can-do spirit.
I love Susanna! It’s currently my #2 choice for a daughter. It replaced Lily when I realized Lily was getting far too common.
I knew a girl in her early twenties named Susannah who went by Zannah — I much prefer it to Suzie, and with Hannah’s popularity, it’s sounds very fresh and modern.
Thanks for covering this one! I was shocked when I discovered neither Susanna nor Susannah were in the top 1000, but that’s such a strong argument for using it — it’s so familiar, yet so uncommon. Susana (the Spanish spelling) just barely squeaks into the top 1000, coming in at slot #993. Apparently the name is more often heard among members of the Spanish speaking community.