Susannah

Susannah York

Possibly best known for the song "Oh Susannah," which most of us knew as kids, Susannah's got a lot of history besides that. The original Hebrew version of the name was Shoshana, meaning "lily." This and the Persian version may have roots with the Egyptian word for lotus. This Biblical name was not widely popular until after the 17th century, but was used regularly enough since at least the Middle Ages. The song "Oh, Susannah" was written by Stephen Foster in 1848 and widely associated with the gold rush. (By the way, you can hear one variant form, Shushana, in the movie Inglorious Basterds.)

The spelling including an "h," as opposed to Susanna, was the form used in the Old Testament, the story of a woman was was falsely accused of adultery by two old perverts, found in the book of Daniel and omitted from some texts. On the other hand, the spelling without the "h" is more European. Susan, popularized shortly afterwards, is a vintage-sounding literary gem possibly best known from The Chronicles of Narnia. This variant was in the top 10 for over two decades, Suzanne ranked in and around the top 100 for about three decades, and it might be good to know that Susanna has only been off the charts since 1997, but Susannah has not been in the top 1000 since 1978 and hasn't ranked above #800 since 1880.

Oddly enough, one late namesake is Susannah York, a British actress, which you might remember from the 1978 movie Superman. Also the name of an opera, a Saint Susanna, and the name of one of William Shakespeare's daughters. Other than that, there haven't exactly been any stand-out namesakes. Susannah of the Alamo and some famous daughters, but that's about it.

Potential nicknames: Sue, Susie, Sosie, Sookie, Sukie, Sukey, Sunny, Susa, Sun, Sana, Hanna/h, Anna, Anne, Nana, Nan, Zuzu, Zsu Zsu, Zsa Zsa (and Susie Q if it floats your boat)

Variants: There is a slight possibility that Isannah is a variant (see here) but for sure, variants include Susanna, Susan, Suzanne, Suzannah, Suzette, Susette, Sanne, Zanne, Shoshannah, Shoshana, Zsuzana, Zsuzannah, Shanna, Sosana, Susanka, Sosannah, Sousana (and Azucena is of similar origin, can have most of the same nicknames, and also means "lily"). Chochana is a spelling variant used in France.

Here are all the variants and number of births per name for the different versions used in 2011.
Susannah 78
Susana 197
Susanne 17
Susanna 167
Shoshana 111
Shoshanna 22
Susan 346
Suzanna 78
Suzanne 68
Suzette 37
Susette 5
Suzannah 19
Suzana 12
Suzan 9
Sanna 8
Susie 80
Suzie 25
Suzy 17
Susy 5
Sue 19
Sookie 6
Sosie 6
Sukie 6

Name Interview with Jennifer

A close-up of Lancelot and Guinevere by Herbert James Draper

What is your name? (Include middle if you like) Jennifer Lynn 

What decade were you born in? 70's 

How did you get your name? After actress Jennifer O'Neil  

How did you feel about your name growing up? I wanted to be named Diana 

How do you feel about your name now? Don't mind it at all 

If you have any kids, how did you choose their name(s)? Gabriel (Gabe) after his dad (not my choice) & Alena after my grandma but with an "a" in front 

What is the name of your best friend? I have 3 - Lisa, Michelle & Cristina 

What are some common names for your age group? Laura, Michelle, Lisa 

If you had to give yourself a new first name, what would it be? Idk when I was a kid I wanted it to be Diana? Now I don't really care 

Of the kids you've met most recently, which are your favorites and least favorites? Idk I don't like names spelled completely different than they sound

I thought it would be fun to start my interviews with someone named Jennifer because I heard this name was so popular at one time that some Jennifer's "lost their identity" and joined "Jennifer Support Groups." I, personally, only know three Jen's, so I can't say how true that is, as they all like their name and haven't had any issues with it.

Jennifer is the Cornish variant of Guinevere, Queen of Arthurian legend. Her name means "fair and smooth," Another actress to popularize the name (as she mentioned Jennifer O'Neil above) was Jennifer Jones. Currently, there are at least four A-list celebrities named Jennifer - surnames, Lopez, Garner, Anniston and Connelly. An early literary usage of the name was in Bernard Shaw's "The Doctor's Dilemma" in 1905. Guinevere is now on the rise, with 99 births last year.

From Rare Fairy Tales

Prunella - Prunella & Bensiabel, whom she marries.

Melisande - Malevola (who is in this story is supposed to also be Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and cursed the grandmother of Melisande), Fortuna, Florizel (the Prince)

The Beautiful Catharinella

The White Cat (my favorite) - Blanchette

The Fair Angiola - Angiola

Persinette

Petrosinella

All stories mentioned can be found here.

Shenoa, Shenoah, Chenoa

A Shenoa Diamond

Shenoa is a bit hard to dig up info on regarding the meaning and origin. Variants include Shenoah and Chenoa, and multiple pronunciations including SHEN-oh-ah, CHAY-no-uh and CHEE-no-ah, so take your pick, as no one is going to fight you on the right version. Most baby name websites have it listed as a Native American name meaning "dove," from the word chenowa, "dove of peace" or "white dove," which is inaccurate according to various Native Americans, but is backed up by the state of Illinois in this bio, where there is a city called Chenoa, supposedly pronounced CHEE-no-uh. The more likely possibility is that it was once a Native American place name, and Wikipedia claims it is based on one of the Native American words for the Kentucky River here. Some sites even claim it means "a radiating presence of love," which has nothing backing it up. Considering the listed meanings, there is only evidence to support it as a unisex name. A possibility for nicknames is Shea or Noah for boys, Shay or Noa for girls, although Shen is an option as well.

The name is usually as common in Australia as it is in America. There is a jeweler called Shenoa Diamonds, a famous Spanish pop singer named Chenoa, and a rock band called Shenoah. There were no babies named Shenoa in 2011, but there were 23 baby girls spelled Chenoa. I believe this name would be a great way to honor realtives or ancestors in the Kentucky area or those with a Native American background. It would be a good idea to get the insights of your relatives, and they might have something to contribute to the meaning of this name that I couldn't find online. If anyone has any new information, I'd love to hear it.

Elowen

Elowen is a recent Cornish baby name meaning "elm." It may not take off in America like the last Cornish hit, Jennifer, but it's certainly pretty. She's part of a "linguistic revival," as Appellation Mountain puts it here. Her nickname could be Ellie, Elle or Ella, or a more unusual choice, Wendy. The pronunciation of Elowen is "ell-LOH-en," though most Americans will probably stick with "ELL-oh-wen." Please note that it is not spelled Elowyn. There is a similar name, Eowyn, but if you spell it Elowyn it will no longer be the Cornish name meaning elm tree, just some creative name.

Other great Cornish names include Penrose, Chesten (the Cornish form of Christine), Demelza, Denzel, Hammitt, Kerensa/Kerenza, Meraud (very similar to French gem name Emeraude, both meaning emerald, but Meraud is pronounced "meh-row"), Merryn, Morwenna, Tremain, Emblyn, Jory, Massen, Treeve and Cotton. Here's's a link to a post on Cornish names that includes Cornish saints and word names.

Some beautiful trees

Name inspiration is everywhere - street signs, exotic cities, brand name shoes (I just purchased some shoes called Hans, Elyse and Gita), and trees.

Birch

Cedar

Juniper

Lilac

Magnolia

Maple

Olive

Acacia

Senna

Alternatives to some top 100 names

Ariana - Anatolia, Abyssinia, Antonia, Anastasia, Amalia, Audriana, Aviana
Grace - Graciela, Graziella, Greer, Griselda, Geneva, Ginevra
Sophia - Sephora, Sophira, Sophronia, Ophira, Sapphira, Phillipa, Philomena, Seraphina
Julia - Julina, Julissa, Julita, Junia, Juna, Ulya, Juniper
Chloe - Cleo, Clio, Clover, Clodagh, Clementine, Claudette, Clothilde
Emma - Fiamma, Amabel, Emmeline, Emmanuelle, Emilia, Ember, Emerald
Lucy - Lucinda, Lucille, Lucania, Lumina, Lavinia, Lucretia, Letitia