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Hi! :)

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I don't like the name Susan particularly, maybe because it's dated, or maybe I just don't like it. However, I don't HATE it. It's a perfectly nice name, it just appeal to me. That said, it's grown on me since I read your post! I actually think it's quite sweet now...

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I personally like Susy as a nn, but I'm with you on Sue. She could always be nicknamed Annie, but that might be pushing it. I think all nicknames are avoidable; if she always introduces herself as Susan, then she's less like to get Sue.

Susan is nice but dated. I've just known so many of them over the years (of various ages, mine or older usually). In fact, the dated feel put me off Susanna for a long time even though I love it. I don't think nns are written in stone. I'm with you on Sue, ugh.

You know, Susan has been growing on me a lot the past few years. I used to despise it with a fiery passion, because as a kid I had a really awful daycare worker with the name - and plus, I thought Susannah was so much more beautiful.

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But more recently my hatred towards it has cooled. I'm coming to respect Susan's straightforward character. I'm starting to think Susannah is trying too hard to be pretty and likeable, and some kind of pity/admiration/affection is growing for Susan in my heart. Plus, I love the idea of a Susan called Sunny. Like, that is adorable.

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I'm not sure if Suzie/Sue are avoidable... all I can tell you is, nobody ever called that daycare worker anything but Susan in full. But then as an adult I also knew a Susan who was exclusively called Sue.

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I mean, yes, I'm sure at some point of a Susan's life, she will get called Susie, Sue, Suze, etc. by someone out there. Maybe you just have to be zen about it - like if it happens, whatever, it doesn't mean anything. Let it float away like a teacup in the ocean.

I like Susan too and the youngest person that I know names Susan is 30 now. She goes by Suze as she thinks that Susan is dated.

This message was edited 3/5/2014, 9:17 AM

I like Susan, it's pretty, but it's got a steady reliable quality about it. I much prefer it to Susannah. It feels mature to me, but not dated. I had a friend named Susan who was my age, so maybe that's why (then again her sister was Kathy, so maybe their parents just liked dated names). My friend Susan was never called Suzie or Sue, though being weird kids we did call her Sushi quite a bit. I definitely think the nicknames are avoidable.

I've always been a bit baffled when people say Susan sounds dated. When I first began seeing that I looked up its popularity and saw how popular it was back in the day, so I get it. But the only Susan I've ever met is my second cousin, who's my age. So to me it doesn't feel dated at all! It's very springy and cheerful. I like it.

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I think Suzie and Sue are very avoidable. I can see it being an issue with Suzanne, but Susan isn't a nickname-lending name I don't think. My cousin Susan has always gone by just that.

Almost all the Susans I knew just went by Susan, though one's husband does call her Sue. He's the only one, though. I don't believe Sue and Susie are inevitable. In fact, the one Sue I know who is my age is really Linda Sue.
I think Susan is pretty and not really all that dated. The youngest Susan I can think of is probably twenty or twenty-two.
I think Susan is actually more unexpected and fresh than Susannah. You kind of expect Susannah now because of the popularity of those style of names, but Susan is a surprise.

I don't think Susan is too dated, but I don't particularly like it either. I prefer Susanna, but I think Susan would be refreshing on a little girl.

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As far as nicknames go, I know a Susan who has never gone by Sue (except maybe from her husband). That's not to say she didn't struggle with it in the past, but I've only ever heard people call her Susan.

I really like it, although I prefer Susanna. I like the nn Susie, but I don't think it's inevitable.

It's okay but dated, as you say. I prefer Susannah and don't really see why anyone would use Susan when they could use Susannah.

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I am in the "some nicknames are unavoidable" camp. I saw a Cynthia with whom I went to high school struggle to prevent people from calling her Cindy. So sure, you can correct people, but a lot of people will still continue to use the nickname, and it's a constant pain in the neck. Which is my way of saying that if you want a daughter who will never be called Sue, best not to use Susan or Susannah.

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I really can't divorce Susan from its dated image or from Susan Atkins. Hard to judge it objectively.

I never thought of Susan as being dated. As a kid, the only two I knew were my sister and a girl the year behind me in school (all born late '70's, '81). One of my elementary school teachers was Sue, but I think that was her legal name. My sister has always been a Suzy. As an adult now, I know some Sue's that are a generation ahead of me.

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If you introduce your child as the preferred nn, you might be able to avoid Sue/ Suzy. Zsazsa was the one that I used to bug my sister once I saw it was a form of Susan and bugged her. Sookie is also a possibility. (I was Jennyfer. When she was learning to talk it was cute. Now that she knows my name, not so much.)

This message was edited 3/5/2014, 3:53 AM

My name is Suzanne, and I actually like my name. The spelling Susan does seem a bit dated to me, but I really like Susannah.
People sometimes call me Suzie, but I don't mind. I'm not sure if these nicknames are avoidable.

I like Susan ... much more than I like Susannah / Susanna, which I think seems relatively fusty and baroque. I like Suzanne, too. Maybe as much as Susan.

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I think Susie and Sue are avoidable. I've met several Susans who were just Susan to everyone. Sue / Susie didn't suit them - it was too girlish.

This message was edited 3/5/2014, 12:40 AM

I named a rabbit Susan when I was little, god only knows why. I don't particularly like the name, but I must have back then.

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I agree that it's dated, but that's not a bad thing, IMO. Dated names need to come back.

I hate it. I don't think it's appealing at all. I have an aunt names Susan who goes by Susie and Sue and it fits her. But I would never use it.

Susan seems very dated to me. I have a bad association with the name, so I just can't get into it. The Susan I knew went by Suzie. Like you, I dislike all the nn's for it.

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Susannah is very pretty. I much prefer it over Susan.

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:)