Vanesa
Spanish spelling of Vanessa, a name Jonathan Swift invented for his friend Esther Vanhomrigh by splicing the start of her surname to a piece of her first name.
Vanesa in 2025
Vanesa was given to 28 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 8,436th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 118,405 babies born.
The history of Vanesa
Vanesa reached its highest point in 2002, when 271 babies were given the name, ranking 1,528th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 1,491st, in 1997.
Across the 73 years of records since 1953, 6,544 babies have been named Vanesa. Half of them were born before 1999, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Vanesa by decade
| Decade | Babies named Vanesa | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 63 | 4,473 |
| 1960s | 120 | 4,878 |
| 1970s | 274 | 3,177 |
| 1980s | 1,069 | 1,800 |
| 1990s | 1,945 | 1,491 |
| 2000s | 2,216 | 1,528 |
| 2010s | 710 | 2,889 |
| 2020s | 147 | 8,436 |
Where Vanesa is heading
Vanesa has fallen 48% over the past decade, from 54 babies in 2015 to 28 in 2025.
Names like Vanesa
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Vanesa.