Suzy
A feminine diminutive of Susan, a Hebrew name meaning "lily" or "rose".
Name Census estimates that about 3,339 living Americans carry the first name Suzy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Suzy today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Suzy births was 1962 (228 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Suzy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Suzy with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 102,652 Americans
Peak year
1962
228 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,885
Tracked since 1913
Census
Suzy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,510 people with the first name Suzy, which placed it at #3,688 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,688
National first-name rank
People counted
5.5K
5,510 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suzy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suzy is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Suzy described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Suzy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.9% · 3,684
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 727
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.7% · 643
- Black or African American5.0% · 274
- Two or more races2.6% · 145
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 37
Popularity
Suzy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Suzy from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,432 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Suzy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Suzy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Suzys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Suzy, while Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Suzy
The name Suzy is a diminutive form of the name Suzanne, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Shoshana, meaning "lily" or "rose." The name Shoshana is derived from the Hebrew word "shoshan," which refers to a type of lily flower.
The name Suzanne emerged in France during the Middle Ages, as a French adaptation of the Latin name Susanna. Susanna, in turn, was derived from the Hebrew name Shoshana, and it was popular among early Christians due to its association with the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Suzy can be found in the 16th century, when it was used as a diminutive form of Suzanne in France. During this period, the name gained popularity among the French nobility and aristocracy.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Suzy. One of the most famous was Suzy Solidor (1900-1983), a French singer and actress who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s. Another notable Suzy was Suzy Chafee (1946-2022), an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives.
In the realm of literature, Suzy was the name of a character in the novel "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins, published in 1868. This character, Suzy Clack, played a significant role in the plot of the novel, which is considered one of the earliest detective novels in English literature.
Another famous Suzy was Suzy Delair (1917-2020), a French actress and singer who appeared in numerous films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for her comedic roles and her signature song, "Qu'est-ce qu'on attend pour être heureux" (What are we waiting for to be happy?).
In the world of sports, Suzy Walsham (born 1966) is an Australian former tennis player who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 9 in the world. She won five singles titles and six doubles titles on the WTA Tour during her career.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Suzy. The name has retained its popularity over the centuries, with various spelling variations and diminutive forms emerging in different cultures and regions.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Suzy
People
Suzy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Suzy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Suzy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Suzy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,339 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Suzy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 102,652 US residents.
Is Suzy a common name?
We classify Suzy as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,249 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Suzy most popular?
The single biggest year for Suzy was 1962, when 228 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Suzy is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Suzy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,510 people with the name Suzy, or 1.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,688 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Suzy in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Suzy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Suzy appears almost entirely female. Of the 5,519 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Suzy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Suzy is White at 66.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Suzy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Suzy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.9% (3,684 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Suzy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Suzy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Suzy in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Suzy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Suzy in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Suzy can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Suzy as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Suzy on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.