Vanessa
Vanessa was the 377th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 813 babies. Its best year was 1988, when it ranked 41st; the most babies were born in 1985 (7,563). Over the last ten years it has moved down 190 places. More babies were named Vanessa in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning invented by Jonathan Swift · English
Say it vuh-NES-uh /vəˈnɛsə/
- Rank in 2025
- #377 girls, down 168 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 813girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19857,563 babies
- Total since 1880
- 262,606babies recorded
What does the name Vanessa mean?
Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift as a private name for his friend Esther (Hester) Vanhomrigh, and used in his poem Cadenus and Vanessa. He made it from the first syllable of her surname plus Essa, a pet form of Esther. Wiktionary gives this account, and the 1910 Bell edition of Swift's poems lists Vanessa among the fancy names he gave women friends. The name was later used for a genus of butterflies and became common as a first name in the 20th century.
Van(homrigh) (Dutch surname, “first syllable of Vanhomrigh”)Essa (English, “pet form of Esther”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Vanessa', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- The Poems of Jonathan Swift, vol. 1, ed. W. E. Browning (1910) (Project Gutenberg eBook #14353), Project Gutenberg
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Vanessa
The usual nicknames for Vanessa are Nessa and Ness. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Vanessa in the last five years, 6 were named Nessa, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nessa | Modern | #2,744 | 287 |
| Ness | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Vanessas go by each one.
Vanessa popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 984 since 1954.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #377 | 813 |
| 2020 | #209 | 1,384 |
| 2010 | #107 | 2,888 |
| 2000 | #62 | 5,134 |
| 1990 | #56 | 6,409 |
| 1980 | #69 | 4,426 |
| 1970 | #138 | 2,576 |
| 1960 | #155 | 2,711 |
| 1950 | #943 | 91 |
| 1940 | #2,291 | 14 |
| 1930 | #3,040 | 10 |
| 1920 | #4,929 | 6 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | #1,919 | 6 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Vanessa, counting every spelling?
Vanessa is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #395 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #377 for Vanessa on its own. Together these spellings went to 841 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanessa | 813 | #377 | 5,017 |
| Vanesa | 28 | #4,872 | 125 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Vanessa?
813 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Vanessa (0.23 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Vanessa born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Vanessa.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Vanessa?
About 249,300 people born in the US named Vanessa are alive today, with a median age of 36; half are between 25 and 46. That makes Vanessa mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Vanessa by state
How common Vanessa was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Nevada (2.3×), Washington (1.7×), California (1.6×), Arizona (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Arkansas, New Hampshire, New Mexico.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Vanessa: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Vanessa, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Vanessa · Sibling names for Vanessa
Questions about the name Vanessa
What does Vanessa mean?
Vanessa means “invented by Jonathan Swift” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Vanessa?
Vanessa was the 377th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 813 babies. Its best year was 1988, when it ranked 41st; the most babies were born in 1985 (7,563). Over the last ten years it has moved down 190 places. More babies were named Vanessa in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Vanessa a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Vanessa in the US.
Where is Vanessa most popular?
In 2021–2025, Vanessa was most common in Nevada (1.44 per 1,000 girls), followed by Washington and California.