Vanesa
Meaning
“The standard Spanish/Portuguese spelling of Vanessa, a name invented by Jonathan Swift in 1712 for Esther Vanhomrigh.”
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Vanesa peaked in the 1990s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
11,169 people · the #1,578 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 18,182 · median age 31
Among people named Vanesa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 54 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Vanesa
Most people given the name Vanesa in the United States were born between 1990 and 2009. The Vanesa you meet today is most often in her 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Vanesa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Vanesa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Vanesa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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