Vanessa
Invented by Jonathan Swift for his friend Esther Vanhomrigh, taking Van from her surname and adding Essa from Esther. It was later applied to a genus of butterflies.
Vanessa in 2025
Vanessa was given to 813 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 785th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 4,078 babies born.
The history of Vanessa
Vanessa reached its highest point in 1985, when 7,605 babies were given the name, ranking 94th that year.
Across the 126 years of records since 1900, 262,606 babies have been named Vanessa. Half of them were born before 1989, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Vanessa by decade
| Decade | Babies named Vanessa | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 6 | 2,937 |
| 1910s | 35 | 5,044 |
| 1920s | 51 | 6,153 |
| 1930s | 124 | 2,357 |
| 1940s | 295 | 1,837 |
| 1950s | 19,218 | 263 |
| 1960s | 21,046 | 283 |
| 1970s | 28,188 | 151 |
| 1980s | 66,187 | 94 |
| 1990s | 58,134 | 119 |
| 2000s | 43,297 | 144 |
| 2010s | 19,624 | 247 |
| 2020s | 6,401 | 480 |
Where Vanessa is heading
Vanessa has fallen 53% over the past decade, from 1,729 babies in 2015 to 813 in 2025.
Names like Vanessa
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Vanessa.