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HelpHelen or Susan?
Which one do you prefer, Helen or Susan? And what is/are your favorite variant(s) and/or diminutive(s) of said names?
Formerly known as Remora L.
Formerly known as Remora L.
This message was edited 4/22/2020, 7:00 AM
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
Helen - Helena
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Susan - favourite variant Suzanne others Susannah, Suellen or Suzette
This message was edited 4/22/2020, 3:31 PM
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I like Helen more. Helen and Helena are my favorite variants.
Susannah and Suzanne are nice, but Susan is dull.
Susannah and Suzanne are nice, but Susan is dull.
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I like Susan more.
I don't like making the HEH sound at the start of Helen. It sounds sort of haughty and severe to me.
In approximate order of most liked to least liked (though there is not a huge gap between how much I like the top and bottom names):
Suzan
Susan
Suzanne
Elena
Helena - heh-LAY-na
Susanna
Ellen
Susannah
Elly / Ellie
Susie
Helen
Sue
Helena - HEH-leh-na
I don't like making the HEH sound at the start of Helen. It sounds sort of haughty and severe to me.
In approximate order of most liked to least liked (though there is not a huge gap between how much I like the top and bottom names):
Suzan
Susan
Suzanne
Elena
Helena - heh-LAY-na
Susanna
Ellen
Susannah
Elly / Ellie
Susie
Helen
Sue
Helena - HEH-leh-na
This message was edited 4/22/2020, 12:43 PM
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I prefer Helen out of the two original options, but would choose Susanna or Susannah out of all the variants (I like both spellings equally, depending on my mood).
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They ‘re both nice but I prefer Susan overall. I like Shoshana best of the variants. I prefer Helena to Helen.
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My favorite name between Susan and Helen is easily Susan.
I think Susan with the nn Susie is cute. Susan sounds mature but also is a nice sunny name that is feminine without being frilly. Susan makes me think of Black-eyed Susan daisies and has a fun retro flair to it. Susie is super cute and doesn't need to keep being used when the child is older. The nn Susie also reminds me of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees. I don't prefer any Susan variants but I do like Suzette and Suzanne. I like that Suzette reminds me of Lake Ozette in WA.
Helen has always sounded stuffy to me, like the name of a very severe old librarian. Also Helen of Troy was actually Helene, much prettier name in my opinion. I prefer all of the Helen variants although my favorite's are; Helene, Helena, Elena, Elaina, Elaine, and Eleni. My favorite is Elena or Elaina, both of which I prefer over Susan.
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I think Susan with the nn Susie is cute. Susan sounds mature but also is a nice sunny name that is feminine without being frilly. Susan makes me think of Black-eyed Susan daisies and has a fun retro flair to it. Susie is super cute and doesn't need to keep being used when the child is older. The nn Susie also reminds me of the band Siouxsie and the Banshees. I don't prefer any Susan variants but I do like Suzette and Suzanne. I like that Suzette reminds me of Lake Ozette in WA.
Helen has always sounded stuffy to me, like the name of a very severe old librarian. Also Helen of Troy was actually Helene, much prettier name in my opinion. I prefer all of the Helen variants although my favorite's are; Helene, Helena, Elena, Elaina, Elaine, and Eleni. My favorite is Elena or Elaina, both of which I prefer over Susan.
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This message was edited 4/22/2020, 12:10 PM
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Hmm, I like Susan more. I've always liked Susan. I think it's a beautiful name and I see why it was so popular. However, I think Helen is less dated.
My favorite variant of Susan is Susannah, which is my very favorite girls name. I like Helena, but I don't love it.
My favorite variant of Susan is Susannah, which is my very favorite girls name. I like Helena, but I don't love it.
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I love Helen and would use it willingly. I also like Eleanor and Elinor, about equally. I dislike Ellen, Elaine and all the Helene and Helena variants. I don't think Helen needs a diminutive.
Susan has never appealed to me. Susannah is a family name, which I'd use happily enough as a mn. If I had to use a form of the name, it would be Suzanne, with a respectful nod to Leonard Cohen! I also quite enjoy Suzette. As a diminutive, I prefer Susie to Sue; I don't think Suzanne needs to shorten. I taught a Suzanne once who tried everything she could to make people call her Zanne. Her peers called her Suzanne, so did most adults, and I called her Suze. Now she's grown up and is cheerfully Suzanne.
Susan has never appealed to me. Susannah is a family name, which I'd use happily enough as a mn. If I had to use a form of the name, it would be Suzanne, with a respectful nod to Leonard Cohen! I also quite enjoy Suzette. As a diminutive, I prefer Susie to Sue; I don't think Suzanne needs to shorten. I taught a Suzanne once who tried everything she could to make people call her Zanne. Her peers called her Suzanne, so did most adults, and I called her Suze. Now she's grown up and is cheerfully Suzanne.
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I feel the exact opposite. I find Helen to be a "classic" name, with Helen of Troy in ancient Greece, etc., whereas Susan seems "dated."
According to this website, Helen was very popular in the early 1900s as well as being a VERY old name, whereas Susan peaked between 1940s-60s, which is why there are so many older-middle-aged Susans around. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you like it.
I like Helena as a variation of Helen, especially if it's pronounced HEL-en-uh. I don't care for Sue, Suzanne, Susannah, etc.
According to this website, Helen was very popular in the early 1900s as well as being a VERY old name, whereas Susan peaked between 1940s-60s, which is why there are so many older-middle-aged Susans around. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you like it.
I like Helena as a variation of Helen, especially if it's pronounced HEL-en-uh. I don't care for Sue, Suzanne, Susannah, etc.
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Did you mean this in response to me? If so, and for future reference, when you want to respond to someone else who made a response rather than to the Original Poster, you need to be on the other responder's message, not the OP's, and click "Respond" there.
I know what you say about Helen's popularity vs Susan's popularity is true, and I mentioned that in my post. But it doesn't change my impression and doesn't change which name feels more dated to me. We talk about feelings and impressions a lot here, and they don't have to correspond to facts. After all, I know intellectually that not every woman named Helen is frumpy and that naming a baby Helen does not guarantee she will be a frumpy adult, but that's still my feeling about the name.
Also, Susanna / Susannah, from which Susan is derived, is as old or nearly as old as Helen.
I know what you say about Helen's popularity vs Susan's popularity is true, and I mentioned that in my post. But it doesn't change my impression and doesn't change which name feels more dated to me. We talk about feelings and impressions a lot here, and they don't have to correspond to facts. After all, I know intellectually that not every woman named Helen is frumpy and that naming a baby Helen does not guarantee she will be a frumpy adult, but that's still my feeling about the name.
Also, Susanna / Susannah, from which Susan is derived, is as old or nearly as old as Helen.
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No, I was responding directly to the OP, with reference to the other opinions that had been offered at that time.
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I would pick Susan; it doesn't sound so elderly as Susan. I do prefer Suzanne, but I like Ellen better than it or either of the two names.
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I prefer Susan. In spite of the fact that it's dated as is Helen, I don't see it as frumpy, while I do find Helen very frumpy. Perhaps the latter impression is partially caused by the fact that my college sophomore roommate was named Helen and she was extremely frumpy.
Even though Susan has fallen farther than Helen has, and even though Helen's popularity occurred longer ago than Susan's, Helen still feels more dated to me. I can see Susan on an eighteenth century woman, maybe that's why.
As for variants, I love Susannah, whereas I only like Susan.
Even though Susan has fallen farther than Helen has, and even though Helen's popularity occurred longer ago than Susan's, Helen still feels more dated to me. I can see Susan on an eighteenth century woman, maybe that's why.
As for variants, I love Susannah, whereas I only like Susan.
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