Susan

Where the name comes from

• Hebrew (through Greek, Latin and French)
  "Lily". BDB: "usually lily, probably any lily-like flower"; DMNES: "lily, rose".
  Hebrew shoshannah (שׁוֹשַׁנָּה), Greek Sousanna, Late Latin Susanna, French Susanne, English Susan
  Susan is the English form of Susanna. BDB calls the Hebrew noun an "original loan-word from Egyptian", so the word itself comes from Egyptian. In BDB it is a common noun (it also appears in Psalm titles), not a proper name; the personal name is first attested in the Greek New Testament and the Apocrypha. DMNES's gloss "rose" is a scholarly alternative, not a folk meaning.

Susan across traditions

• Ancient Egyptian and Hebrew. BDB derives the Hebrew word for lily, shoshannah, from an Egyptian word. Greek borrowed the same word as souson, "lily".
• Jewish. Shoshannah ("lily") is the Hebrew source of the name. It is the form behind the modern Hebrew name Shoshana.
• Christian (New Testament and saints). Susanna is one of the women who attended Jesus on his journeys and supported him from their means (Luke 8:3), about 2,000 years ago. DMNES also records a 3rd-century saint of the name.
• Medieval and early modern Europe. Susanna appears in Latin records in France (c. 823), Spain (875) and England (1189). Old French has Susane (1296), Middle French Suzanne and Susanne, Dutch Susannaken (1592) and Welsh Zuzanna (1589). English Susan is recorded from 1340–1450.
• United States (SSA). 844,297 combined US births, 1950s–2010s. Peak decade: the 1950s, at #4 among girls (437,774). By decade: 1950s #4, 1960s #3, 1970s #27, 1980s #94; not in the top 200 from the 1990s on.

Who carried it

• Susanna, disciple of Jesus (New Testament (about 2,000 years ago)): One of the women who attended Jesus and ministered to him from their substance (Luke 8:3).
• Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906): American abolitionist and leader of the women's rights and suffrage movement.

Forms in other languages

Susanna, Susannah, Susanne, Suzanne, Suzan, Zuzanna, Shoshana, Sue, Susie

Susan in letter-number systems

Hebrew, Greek and other traditions gave every letter a number, and read meaning into the totals. These are the counts, computed; the readings are inside the Innerverse.