Name panic >> Susan + Suggestions....

[OneWeekToGo]

I'm having enormous trouble with names with only a week 'til due date. We know we're having a little girl. OH has turned his nose up at most of the list and the only name we could even remotely agree on is Susan (Susie/Suzi) which wasn't my favourite but I could compromise. At which point, my mother who has been giving 'helpful suggestions' all along (most of which sound like boarding-school prefects or horsey-horsey-rah-rah names) said that Susan was boring, outdated, dull and WHATever that she would call her something else - quite out of character !!! So, please please I'd like MNers's thoughts on Susan? And any more suggestions that aren't Top Ten but aren't strange or twee as my brain has stopped.....

Sarah
Lydia
Nina
Marianne

FWIW I like it.

I like it actually - it's a nice name, and baby Susie sounds cute. Could you make it Suzanne to make it more 'trendy' maybe?

Oh, and sod what you mother thinks. We told my mother DS was going to be called Caligula or Wayne, so she was thrilled by the eventual choice of Oliver. Tell your mum you're deciding between Bubbles and Nematoda or something, and she'll appreciate whatever name your DD actually ends up with. Remember, she had her chance to name you, now it's your turn!

How about Susannah instead? Lots of shortenings and I only know 1 under 45!

Sorry, I agree with your mum. My best friend at primary school was called Susan and that was in 1980. The only other Susans I know are over 50 - it's not dated enough to be granny-chic, but just sounds a bit bland and middle-aged to me.

If you would like a straightforward name that isn't too overused but won't date, how about:

Rebecca
Charlotte
Rachel
Emma
Julia (seems to be coming back into fashion, but still a bit unusual)

All, imo, very pretty names that are ageless, timeless and classless.

Or Katherine/Catherine. Kate and Katie are both lovely, too, I think.

Waving to Seeker - what about Susannah? Still Susie for short. (I know one, a cousin, who is in her early 30s) Second name - Grace, Mary, Ellen, Frances, Isobel, Imogen?

I'm a Susanna under 45 and I like it. I also like Susie, which I go by a lot. I'm not mad keen on Susan. FWIW I'm Susanna Maria.

Elizabeth as middle name. Oh and it's your baby, call her what you like. Your mother has had a chance to name her DC.

Know two teenagers with the name Susan/Susannah
DS16 has a friend called Susie, not sure if she is a Susan or a Susanna
DD 14 has a friend Zannah short for Susannah,

Susan is a lovely name :) Understated and fairly classic, but pretty too, and Susie is a nice nickname. Susan was "outdated" for a while, but it's due a revival I think, along with other 50s names.

Susan may not be 'trendy' at the moment, but as a name it serves its purpose well - it is a classic, easily pronouncable and spellable name that isn't already used by lots of others. Unlike all the little Ellies and Evies, a little Susie will probably not have to share her name with many others and/or add a modifier to her name to be identified.

Why does a name have to be 'fashionable' or 'trendy' to be acceptable? Also, people change their associations as soon as they meet a cute little Susan.

Susan is a brilliant name. Classic, pretty, and unfashionable right now- Which means that by the time she's old enough to notice such things, it will probably be v. fashionable and cool. The trendy old lady names will be too common to be cool by then.
I really love it. I want to steal it. For myself. :o

Actually, I really like it. I doubt DH would agree with it though. It's very 'Enid Blyton' but not in a bad way.

I know 2 Susan's under the age of 10. Cute name, one shortened to Suzie one not.

I think Susan is a little outdated, but not so much as to be unuseable. I prefer Susannah personally.

However, I do think your mum is completely out of order to say she would use a diffferent name if you call the baby Susan. If me mum said osmething like that it woudl make me want to use the name even more!

I know a Suzi which could be a funky version?

im considering Susannah for my bump if its a pink one :)

Thankyou all so much for all the suggestions and comments! I'm taking them all on board and will definitely consider a Susannah alternative as well as some of the lovely middle names you've put forward.

@WineOhWhy totally agree - and I have to be careful that I'll not be naming her in anger!!!

I like Susan. Susannah sounds like Susan's had an extension built!

All the best for the coming weeks .

@FunToksvigWincies that certainly feels like what she's doing at the moment! Thankyou.

Go for it. Retro cool. There won't be any others in the playground. It's nice to be original!

I am biased but I also think it's due a revival in its proper form ie Susan, not Sue, Susie or anything with a z in it

Despite being known as the shortened version all my life, DH insists on using the full version and actually I really like it, and use it a lot now.

My name is Susan, and I never had any real issue with it, but as soon as I was old enough to decide, I shortened to Sue. I was born in 1981 and was the only one at my school, and I don't think it's a name you see much of anymore, which I would see as a pro. Who wants to have a name where there are six of them in the class at school and have to be distinguished by their last name?? We looked at a derivitive of Susan for my little girl, and considered Suki for a while...? Ended up naming her Thea though after my mum (Dorothy).

I'm a Susan, and I agree with your mum, it's "boring, outdated, dull"! I don't know if it's coming back into fashion, but I haven't seen any evidence of it yet....

Always wished I'd been a Suzanne or Susannah instead, they're a bit nicer I think. Not Susie though, that's like a little girl or a dog...

Much prefer Susan to Susanna(h). It's simpler and stronger, I think.