Shoshana
Feminine · “lily”
Shoshana is the Hebrew behind Susan — a lily, from a word Egypt seems to have given Hebrew, where it named the lotus.
How old is the name Shoshana?
Shoshana first appears in US birth records in 1948 — 77 years ago. The typical Shoshana alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 5,600 people named Shoshana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shoshana most popular?
Shoshana peaked in 1984, reaching #1225 nationally. Today it ranks #1673, 448 places below that high. See the whole 1984 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From sšn to Shoshana
The story of Shoshana
Susanna appears in the deuterocanonical book of that name, falsely accused by two elders and vindicated by Daniel's cross-examination — one of the most painted scenes in European art and an early piece of courtroom drama. Shoshana is the Hebrew form, standard in Israel and Jewish communities, and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
lily, rose
From the Hebrew shoshannah, 'lily', probably a loan from the Egyptian sšn, the lotus. Modern Hebrew shoshan means lily and shoshanah has come also to mean rose. The Song of Songs uses the word repeatedly. The meaning is undisputed even where the exact flower is not.
How the name formed
- sšn
- shoshannah
- Shoshana
Related forms: שושנה · Susanna · Shoshane
Pronouncing Shoshana
shoh-SHAH-nah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hebrew places the stress on the final syllable, sho-sha-NAH.
Nicknames for Shoshana
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1948
- Most girls named
- 2022152 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1225reached in 1984
- Change vs 2023
- −1.6%123 in 2025, from 125
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Shoshana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- שושנה in Hebrew — transliteration
- Susanna in English — related form
- Shoshane in Yiddish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New Jersey, New York, California.
Shoshanas among us
people named Shoshana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 13,067 born in 2025 was named Shoshana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Randie test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shoshana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Randie climbed just as high around 1952, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Randie's path sketches the road Shoshana is walking now.
Shoshana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Shoshana is headed
Shoshana should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Shoshana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shoshana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The lily meaning is concrete and its route from Egyptian to Hebrew is genuinely interesting.
- The Susanna story is an early and remarkable piece of legal narrative.
- Shosh and Shoshi are two warm and widely used short forms.
- Three syllables and an unfamiliar spelling will need dictating.
- The stress placement differs between Hebrew and American readings.
- It reads as specifically Hebrew rather than generally biblical.
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What they receive
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Shoshana
Feminine · #1673 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shoshanas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,600 people named Shoshana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shoshana in 2025?
- Shoshana ranks #1673 among US girl names in 2025, with 123 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shoshana?
- About 1 in every 13,067 US girls born in 2025 was named Shoshana — 123 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shoshana with classmates?
- Shoshana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shoshana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Maylin#1673 · Alannah#1673 · Camellia#1673 · Miya#1673 · Adrienne#1673 · Vamika#1673 · Denise#1673 · Kalilah#1673
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shoshana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shoshana and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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