Vanessa
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Meaning
coined by Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh; later used for a butterfly genus
Goes by Nessa. See all nicknames
The story
Vanessa has a documented birthday in literature. Jonathan Swift used the name for Esther Vanhomrigh, building it from sounds in her surname and given name, and his poem Cadenus and Vanessa reached print in 1726. Natural history later borrowed Vanessa for a genus of butterflies, which is why the name is often glossed simply as butterfly even though the insect came after the woman. The US curve remains faint until the 1970s, rises through the 1980s, reaches its displayed high point in the 1990s, and then eases across the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. That modern wave carried an eighteenth-century literary invention into everyday family use across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and beyond. Vanessa is not an ancient word waiting to be translated. It is a made name with a known human source, a poem, and a butterfly chapter added later.
In literature since at least 1726: Cadenus and Vanessa (Jonathan Swift), published 1726. Swift's own name for Esther Vanhomrigh (1688 to 1723); he used it for her in life, and it reached print in the poem after her death.
How popular is Vanessa around the world?
In the United States, 6,401 babies were named Vanessa between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 397,874 people in Brazil were named Vanessa, the 69th most common name, with a median age of 32.
Vanessa is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Mexico City, Norway, Spain, Austria, Poland, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Chile, England and Wales, France, Montevideo and Argentina.
Vanessa crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 3,400
In the United States, 6,401 babies were named Vanessa between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Vanessa peaked in the 1990s. Vanessa went to 1,729 US babies in 2015 and 813 in 2025, 47% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 510
At the 2022 census, 397,874 people in Brazil were named Vanessa, the 69th most common name, with a median age of 32.
Among people named Vanessa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,250 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Mexico City City
1 in 820
In Mexico City, there were 144 registrations of Vanessa in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (7 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Norway
1 in 1,000register 2026
In Norway, 26 girls were given the name Vanessa in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Spain
1 in 1,500
In Spain, 30,544 residents are named Vanessa, the 142nd most common name among women, with a mean age of 40 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
1 in 2,000
In Austria, 39 girls named Vanessa were born in 2025, the 154th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Poland
1 in 3,700
In Poland, 66 girls named Vanessa were born in 2025, the 152nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Vanessa in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 5,000
In Canada, 73 girls named Vanessa were born in 2024, the 407th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Scotland
1 in 5,100
In Scotland, 9 girls named Vanessa were registered in 2024, the 351st most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Ireland
1 in 6,000
In Ireland, 9 girls named Vanessa were born in 2025, the 413th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 9,900
In Chile, 18 girls were registered as Vanessa in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
England and Wales
1 in 11,000
In England and Wales, 51 girls named Vanessa were born in 2025, the 719th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 21,000
In France, about 30 girls named Vanessa were born in 2025, ranked 1,151st among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Vanessa was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Vanessa in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Vanessa is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Vanessa is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2011
Vanessa is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 154 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
When you meet Vanessa
People given the name Vanessa in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1970 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Vanessa travels
Mexican American · butterfly, an 18th-century literary coinage; a widely embraced crossover favorite
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Vanessa · English-Brazilian names · Mexican American baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Vanessa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Vanessa 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 Vanessa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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