Vanessa
Featured in baby name books
Vanessa was invented by Jonathan Swift for his poem “Cadenus and Vanessa,” combining part of Esther Vanhomrigh’s surname with a nickname for Esther. Vanessa is also connected to the Greek word for “butterfly,” and it is the name of a butterfly genus that contains the Red Admiral and the Painted Lady. Actresses Vanessa Redgrave and Vanessa Williams helped establish the name, and its -essa ending fits well with Tessa and Bella.
Sources: 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names Made Easy, Baby Names Book, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Best Baby Names for Girls, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names, 10,000 Baby Names
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Usage of Vanessa in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching Vanessa against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if Vanessa is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
Vanessa in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 813 girls were named Vanessa, making it the #377 girls' name in the US. Since 1900, 261,622 girls have been named Vanessa, with the most (7,563) in 1985. It is most common, relative to births, in Hawaii, Nevada and Idaho.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
Storms named Vanessa
Tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that have been named Vanessa, newest first.
| Storm | Year | Ocean | Peak wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical storm Vanessa | 1994 | Western Pacific | 83 km/h |
| Tropical storm Vanessa | 1991 | Western Pacific | 83 km/h |
| Tropical storm Vanessa | 1988 | Western Pacific | 102 km/h |
| Typhoon Vanessa (Category 5) | 1984 | Western Pacific | 287 km/h |
| Tropical storm Vanessa | 1981 | Western Pacific | 102 km/h |
| Cyclone Vanessa (Category 2) | 1976 | South Indian Ocean | 167 km/h |
Source: IBTrACS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Peak wind is the highest sustained wind recorded for the storm.
Towns named Vanessa
There are 6 towns and villages with Vanessa in their name, in 4 countries.
🇧🇷 Brazil 2🇲🇽 Mexico 2🇨🇦 Canada 1🇺🇸 United States 1
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sítio Vanessa | Amazonas, 🇧🇷 Brazil | – | Map |
| Vanessa | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | – | Map |
| Vanessa | Tamaulipas, 🇲🇽 Mexico | – | Map |
| Vanessa Torres | Coahuila, 🇲🇽 Mexico | – | Map |
| Vila Vanessa | São Paulo, 🇧🇷 Brazil | – | Map |
| Vanessa Street Colonia | Texas, 🇺🇸 United States | – | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named Vanessa
There are 1 lakes and reservoirs with Vanessa in their name.
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Vanessa Lake | Ontario, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Vanessa songs
7 songs and musical works on Wikidata have Vanessa in their title. The best known:
- Sorry Sorry (Vanessa Mai song) – Vanessa Mai (2025)
- Lista de composições de Vanessa da Mata
- Vanessa with an F – ITSOKTOCRY (2019)
- Bonica Vanessa – Narcís Paulís i Vila
- I Believe in U featuring Vanessa Mdee – Vanessa Mdee (2016)
- Vanessa – Jaume Cristau i Brunet
- Vanessa i Adrià – Manuel Pedragosa i Mostaza
Song data: Wikidata (CC0), ordered by how widely each song is covered on Wikipedia.
Celebrities named Vanessa
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name Vanessa.
Vanessa Angel
Vanessa Atkinson
Vanessa Bell Calloway
Vanessa Blue
See more...
Fictional characters named Vanessa
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
Vanessa as a pet name
FurryName has found 27 dogs named Vanessa in public pet registers, making it the #3,926 dog name there. Most of them are registered in Seattle (3), Framingham (1), Laval (1). Vanessa as a dog name →
Vanessa products
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Vanessa keychain
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Vanessa ornament
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Vanessa baby blanket
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Vanessa name puzzle
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Vanessa wall sign
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Vanessa pillow
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