My wife and I are having our second child any day now. We seem to have a problem with names though. We have five that we like, at least between us. We’d like to know what people think of when they hear these names. I’ll list them alphabetically so there’s no bias. We don’t want to miss some nickname that the kids are likely to give her.
Anna
Cassandra
Clare
Erika
Susanna
So give us what you think and see if that helps us out any.
They are all beautiful and non-trendy, which I fully support. Clare (or Claire) may be borderline with regards to the trendiness, but it’s still okay. My favorite is Susanna.
They all sound fine to me.
In reference to nicknames, are you thinking of teasing? While some names lend themselves to teasing nicknames more than others (Gary is one of these - rhymes with lots of stuff), I wouldn’t put it past kids to come up with something for any name. Nevertheless, these don’t strike me as particularly prone to that.
I would think non-teasing nicknames like Cassie, Erie, & Susie, would more likely be bestowed by parents or chosen by the person herself, but I guess anything can happen.
Claire is pretty popular these days, it’s true, but it’s not really trendy and it’s always been a favorite of mine. The others are all great too, though Erika is my least favorite (but still way better than, say, Tawni).
I like them all, but I actually get pictures of certain kinds of women when I think of the names. (this is in no way a criticism, just an observation)
And what do you think of when you hear those names? That’s what we’re thinking about.
Anna is actually quite popular, it’s in the 20s. Clare is somewhere in the 60s+ I think, the others are way off the charts, and Susanna doesn’t even crack the top 1000.
The last three don’t get any reaction from me. But Anna of course makes me think of The King and I, which, even though it is banned here, because it is deemed disrespectful to the monarchy, not to mention a gross distortion of actual events, is wildly popular. There is even a very nice local chain of restaurants called Anna’s.
Cassandra for some odd reason always makes me think of Woody Allen. He’s mentioned the seer prominently in at least two of his films that I can think of. And then there’s his *Cassandra’s Dream * that came out last year, which we’ve not seen yet.
Anna and Cassandra give pictures of elegant women who are always dressed just so and in command of every situation. Clare and Erika seem like athletes, who look bright, healthy, and energetic. Susanna seems like a tomboyish woman who loves the outdoors and likes to go hiking and camping.
(please don’t laugh)
Wait! Theres: “Oh Susanna won’t you dance for me? I`ve come from Alabama with a Banjo on my knee.” I wonder how many times in her life she’d be forced to endure THAT song? 
Oh, you want to know what we literally think of when we hear these names- sorry!
Anna - Elegant, dignified woman, but somewhat old-fashioned
Cassandra - Friendly, simple girl, but possibly also simple-minded
Clare - Friendly and cute but studious and boring
Erika - Athletic, intelligent, and well-rounded
Susanna - Fun-loving and sunny, outdoorsy
Upon further reflection, Clare makes me think of that Gilbert O’Sullivan song (except I believe that was spelled Claire), which would be far more pleasant to have to listen to than that Susanna song. Erika makes me think of “wealthy young yuppie.”
Why is that? I mean, do you think that every woman in the world named Anna is elegant, dignified, etc.? Of course not.
Could it be that it depends on our personal experience about a person with a name that we knew well? For example, if I dated a girl named Donna in college who was a real wildcat in the sack, wouldn’t I associate that name with that later in life?
These are choices for a girl, right? 
Without looking at anyone else’s answers…
Anna(rexic), Anna Karenina, Anaerobic
Cassandra - something bad with Greeks and disasters
Clare - I like this one because you can caller her ‘chocolaty’, chocolate éclair, geddit!
Erika - She’ll be Eric for most of her life. I like Scandinavian girl’s names though.
Susanna - Old, not crying with banjos on knees and such.
This is what I’ve been waiting for. I’m surprised that it took this long. I think this is the biggest reason that I don’t want to go with this name, though it is a family name.
It’s normal to associate certain names with certain qualities. No, I do not literally think every woman named Anna possesses these qualities, but they are what I picture when the name is mentioned.
Anna - I like this, though I do think of an older lady, wearing a twin set with pearls - BUT, that’s likely because it’s my main experience with people named Anna.
It’s both classic and simple. The only real nickname I could come up with is Anna Banana, but that’s not really harsh as far as playground stuff goes.
Cassandra - Meh - it’s ok, just not one of my favorite names. The only real association i have with it is the mention of the Cassandra Complex(?) in 12 Monkeys. I think it’s different from a lot of the popular names right now.
Clare - I’ve always liked the name Clare, and I prefer this spelling of it.
Erika - I have issues with this name, but those are from my own associations, not anything specific about this name in particular.
Susanna - It’s ok. Not a name you hear all that much, like Cassandra, at least in young girls, but that could be a benefit for your daughter, since hopefully she won’t have the same name as 6 or more girls in her class once she’s in school.
Not a fan of Erika at all; the rest are a bit blah, except Clare which rocks.
Although you should spell it with an “i”.
Anna - Simple, I like it. A nice girl next door.
Cassandra - A very wealthy and cultured woman.
Clare - The blonde girl from Lost. And that you spelled it wrong. I think it should be Claire.
Erika - I think of Erika Christiansen, a young actress who was Michael Douglas’ daughter in Traffic.
Susanna - This name has always rubbed me the wrong way, even though I don’t know anyone named Susanna.
**Anna ** : Smart, socially skilled, calm
**Cassandra ** : depends on which common nickname she uses
Sandra: Sweet, not dumb, exactly, just not brilliant or ambitious.
Cassie: Bright, social butterfly, sexy but not slutty.
Clare or Claire Very bright, very reserved, dry sense of humor
Erika or Erica: Bitch, who isn’t as pretty as she thinks, smarter than you think.
Susanna: No automatic perception of the name. Slight association with gingham 
I feel ever so slightly sorry for a high school aged girl named Suzy, just because of a couple of songs that every Suzie I have ever known (aged 15 to 45) has heard of and hated. Not pity, just a twinge of sympathy
I have no known reason for my feelings on any of these, sorry.