Susan

See also: susan and SUSAN

English

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsuː.zən/, /ˈsuː.zɪn/, (archaic) /ˈsjuː-/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːzən

Proper noun

Susan (plural Susans)

1. A female given name from Hebrew.
   • c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Susan and she - God rest all Christian souls! - / Were of an age. Well, Susan is with God; / She was too good for me.

   • 1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South, Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1855, page 382:

     "With all my heart, though I have not an idea who little Susan may be. But I have a kindness for all Susans, for simple Susan's sake.

   • 1932, Ernest Weekley, Words and Names, J.Murray, page 84:

     My own 'reaction' to the name Susan is a vision of a sturdy young woman garbed in 'print' and armed with a mop or other domestic implement, a picture compounded of a succession of domestic Susans passing before the eyes of early childhood. […] It is symptomatic of the game of general post now being played by the classes and the masses that Susan is taking refuge, with Betty, Peggy, Jane and Ann, among the aristocracy, while Gladys and Muriel reign below stairs,

   • 2006, Anne Tyler, Digging to America, Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, pages 10, 62:

     Susan, they called her. They chose a name that resembled the name she had come with, Sooki, and also it was a comfortable sound for Iranians to pronounce. "Su-san!" Maryam would sing when she went in to get her from her nap. "Su-Su-Su!"
     Even on issues pertaining to their daughter, the Yazdans took a very different approach. Imagine changing that charming name, Sooki, part of her native heritage, to plain old Susan!

Usage notes

• In continuous use since the Middle Ages, with the latest popularity peak in the mid-twentieth century.

Derived terms

• Susanville

Related terms

Variants

• Susanna
• Susannah
• Susanne
• Suzanna
• Suzannah
• Suzanne

 

Diminutives

• Sue
• Susie
• Susy
• Suze
• Suzi
• Suzie
• Suzy
• Zan

 

others

• Susan B. Anthony

 

Translations

female given name

• Albanian: Syzana f
• Arabic: سْوْزَان f (swzān)
• Armenian: Շուշան (Šušan)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蘇珊／苏珊 (zh) (Sūshān)

• Czech: Zuzana (cs) f
• Danish: Susanne
• Esperanto: Susana
• Faroese: Súsanna f
• Finnish: Susanna (fi)
• French: Suzanne (fr)
• German: Susanne (de)
• Greek: Σουζάνα (el) (Souzána), Σουσάννα (el) (Sousánna)
• Greenlandic: Suusaat
• Hawaiian: Kukana
• Hebrew: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (he) (shoshána)
• Hungarian: Zsuzsanna (hu), Zsuzsa (hu)
• Inuktitut: ᓲᓴᓐ (soosan)
• Italian: Susanna (it)
• Japanese: スーザン (Sūzan)
• Korean: 수잔 (Sujan)
• Latvian: Zuzanna f
• Lithuanian: Suzana f
• Macedonian: Су́зана f (Súzana), Суза́на f (Suzána)
• Maori: Hūhana
• Northern Sami: Susánná
• Norwegian: Susanne (no)
• Occitan: Susana f
• Persian: سوزان (fa) (suzân)
• Polish: Zuzanna (pl) f
• Portuguese: Susana (pt)
• Russian: Суса́нна (ru) f (Susánna), Сюза́нна (ru) f (Sjuzánna), Сью́зан f (Sʹjúzan)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Сузана f

  Roman: Suzana f

• Slovak: Zuzana f
• Spanish: Susana (es)
• Swedish: Susanna (sv)
• Turkish: Suzan
• Welsh: Siwsan f

Etymology 2

Susa +‎ -an

Adjective

Susan (not comparable)

1. (historical) Of or pertaining to the ancient city of Susa.

Noun

Susan (plural Susans)

1. (historical) A person from the ancient city of Susa.

Anagrams

• Ansus, NUSAS, nasus, sauns, unass

Danish

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun

Susan

1. a female given name borrowed from English

Romanian

Etymology

From susan.

Proper noun

Susan m (genitive/dative lui Susan)

1. a surname