Vanessa

Primarily a girl's name · 100% girls

Meaning

Vanessa is a feminine given name. It was created by the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom Swift had met in 1708 and whom he tutored. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh's last name and adding "Essa", a pet form of Esther.

From Wikipedia

Vanessa first appears in the data in 1980 and has been recorded in 10 different years as a girl's name. Its single biggest year was 1980 with 1,598 babies (rank #34 that year). It was not in the 2024 data.

Numerology of Vanessa

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Vanessa yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

9Destiny numberThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
7Soul urgeThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
11PersonalityThe visionary (master)Intuitive and inspirational — a heightened 2.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

15,980

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

1,598

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Girls

Famous people named Vanessa

Vanessa Hudgensfilm actor · b. 1988
Vanessa Paradismodel · b. 1972
Vanessa Redgravefilm actor · b. 1937
Vanessa Williamsbeauty pageant contestant · b. 1963
Vanessa-Maealpine skier · b. 1978

More popular girls' names

Other girls' names starting with V

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all girls' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1980	1,598	#34
1981	1,598	#34
1982	1,598	#34
1983	1,598	#34
1984	1,598	#34
1985	1,598	#34
1986	1,598	#34
1987	1,598	#34
1988	1,598	#34
1989	1,598	#34