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National Susan Day

A name-day observance on February 27 honoring individuals named Susan and celebrating the name's Hebrew roots and cultural legacy.

Saturday

February 2027

Last updated March 23, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar Team

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YEARLY DATEFebruary 27

OBSERVED INUnited States

CATEGORYNames

ORIGIN

Community Origin

FOUNDING ENTITY

Not documented

FIRST OBSERVED

Not documented

HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

No documented founder or formal establishment record has been identified. The observance appears to have emerged informally online alongside similar name-day holidays in the early 2000s.

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INTRO

Introduction

PHOTO

An estimated 1.5 million Americans share the name Susan, making it one of the most common given names in the country's history. National Susan Day honors a name that crossed from ancient Hebrew scripture into mid-century American living rooms, where it dominated birth certificates for more than two decades.

The name's most famous bearer, Susan B. Anthony, became so synonymous with women's suffrage that the constitutional amendment bears her name. From Susan Sontag reshaping cultural criticism to Susan Boyle's audition becoming one of the most-watched videos in internet history, the name marks two centuries of outsized influence.

ORIGINS

Susan Day history

INTRODUCTION

The name Susan started as a flower. In ancient Hebrew, Shoshana meant "lily," a word some linguists trace further back to the Egyptian "ssn," their term for the lotus. The name traveled from temple gardens into Greek as Sousanna, then into Latin as Susanna, and finally into English as Susan.

Its earliest boost in the Christian world came from the story of Susanna and the Elders, a narrative included in some biblical traditions as part of the Book of Daniel. In the tale, a virtuous woman named Susanna is falsely accused of adultery and saved by the prophet Daniel's cross-examination of her accusers. The story made the name a symbol of faith and resilience across medieval Europe.

CHAPTER 01

A Midcentury Phenomenon

By the 1940s, Susan had begun climbing American baby-name charts. It entered the SSA top 10 in 1945 and never left for a generation.

The streak lasted 24 consecutive years. At its peak in 1959 and 1960, it ranked second in the entire country, trailing only Mary.

The sheer volume was staggering. In a single year during the late 1950s, more than 45,000 newborn girls received the name. The result is a generation where knowing multiple Susans in the same classroom, office, or family was routine.

CHAPTER 02

A Name That Shaped History

Long before the midcentury boom, Susan B. Anthony had already made the name synonymous with civic courage. Born in 1820, Anthony spent decades campaigning for women's suffrage alongside Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She died in 1906, fourteen years before the amendment she had championed was ratified.

CHAPTER 03

From Baby Name to Holiday

No documented founder or formal establishment record has been identified for National Susan Day. The observance emerged online in the early 2000s alongside dozens of similar name-day holidays, part of a broader internet-era tradition of dedicating calendar dates to common first names.

TIMELINE

National Susan Day Timeline

Susan enters English usage

The name transitioned from the Latin Susanna into the shorter English form Susan, appearing in parish records across England.

Anthony arrested for voting

Susan B. Anthony was arrested in Rochester, New York, for casting a ballot in the presidential election, making national headlines for the suffrage movement.

Susan peaks at number two

The name reached its highest SSA ranking at number two in the United States, part of a 24-year streak inside the top 10.

Sarandon wins Academy Award

Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking.

Boyle audition goes viral

Susan Boyle's performance of 'I Dreamed a Dream' on Britain's Got Talent was viewed over 100 million times online within weeks.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate National Susan Day

Look up your name's SSA history

The Social Security Administration's baby name tool lets you search any name's popularity by year and state. Type in Susan, or your own name, to see exactly when it peaked and how many people share it.

VISIT

Visit the Susan B. Anthony Museum

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, New York, preserves the home where Anthony was arrested for voting in 1872. Virtual tours are available for those who cannot visit in person.

WATCH

Watch a film starring a famous Susan

Stream Dead Man Walking, the 1995 film that earned Susan Sarandon her Academy Award, or revisit Thelma and Louise for another iconic Sarandon role.

READ

Read a Susan Sontag essay

Pick up On Photography or Illness as Metaphor, two collections that reshaped American cultural criticism. Both are widely available at public libraries and remain essential reading for anyone interested in how images and language shape perception.

Share the Susans in your life

Use the day to send a note to a Susan you know, whether a grandmother, colleague, or old friend. A short message acknowledging someone by name carries more weight than a generic holiday greeting.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love National Susan Day

It connects ancient symbolism to modern identity

The name's journey from the Hebrew Shoshana to the English Susan spans over two millennia and at least five languages. That linguistic trail documents how names carry religious meaning, literary association, and cultural identity across civilizations.

It carries a suffrage legacy

The 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote is colloquially known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Anthony's name became so closely linked to the cause that the U.S. Mint placed her portrait on the dollar coin in 1979, the first woman to appear on circulating American currency.

It reveals how names create generational identity

Because Susan dominated birth certificates during the postwar baby boom, the name now functions as a generational marker in the same way Jennifer does for the 1970s or Jessica for the 1980s. Researchers in onomastics use these concentration patterns to study how media, migration, and cultural shifts drive naming trends across decades.

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