Vanessa (name)

Vanessa (name)
Vanessa is a feminine given name.
It was invented 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. In 1726, the name Vanessa appeared in print for the first time in Cadenus and Vanessa, an autobiographical poem about Swift's relationship with Vanhomrigh. Swift had written the poem in 1713, but it was not published until three years after Vanhomrigh died.
Vanessa was adopted as the name of a genus of butterfly by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1807.
Vanessa was the 71st most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007. It has been among the top 200 names for girls in the United States since 1953 and among the top 100 names for girls since 1977. It first appeared among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States in 1950, when it appeared on the list in 939th place.
In Germany, Vanessa has been among the top 100 names for girls since 1976. The name became more and more popular and was the 7th most popular name for girls in the 1990s. In the following years its popularity dropped and the name is ranked in 42nd place for the decade 2000–2009.
Notable people with the given name
Vanessa Ament (born 1955), American foley artist and author
Vanessa Amorosi (born 1981), Australian singer
Vanessa Anderson, Australian teen whose death led to the Garling Report
Vanessa Angel (English actress) (born 1966), English actress and model
Vanessa Angel (Indonesian actress) (1992–2021), Indonesian actress, model and singer
Vanessa Baden (born 1985), American actress, writer, director, and producer
Vanessa Barrs, Australian veterinary scientist
Vanessa Bayer (born 1981), American actress, comedian and cast member from Saturday Night Live
Vanessa Beecroft, Italian artist
Vanessa Bell (1879–1961), English artist and the sister of author Virginia Woolf
Vanessa Bell Armstrong (born 1953), American gospel singer
Vanessa Bell Calloway (born 1957), American actress
Vanessa Benelli Mosell, Italian pianist
Vanessa Branch (born 1973), English-American model and actress
Vanessa L. Brown (born 1966), Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who was convicted of bribery
Vanessa Bryant (born 1982), American philanthropist, nonprofit executive, and former model
Vanessa Carlton (born 1980), American singer, best known for her hit single "A Thousand Miles"
Vanessa Coleman (born 1988), American criminal convicted of facilitating the kidnap, rape, and murder of Channon Christian
Vanessa da Mata (born 1976), Brazilian singer
Vanessa Djomo (born 1998), Cameroonian footballer
Vanessa Downing (born 1958), Australian actress
Vanessa Duriès (1972–1993), French writer
Vanessa Erogbogbo, Ugandan economist
Vanessa Feltz, English journalist and broadcaster
Vanessa Ferlito, American actress
Vanessa Ferrari (born 1990), Italian gymnast
Vanessa García (born 1984), Puerto Rican freestyle swimmer
Vanessa George, English paedophile convicted in the 2009 Plymouth child abuse case
Vanessa Giacomo, Brazilian actress
Vanessa Grigoriadis, American journalist
Vanessa Heleta, women's rights activist and Special Olympics organiser from Tonga
Vanessa Herrmann (born 1991), Thai actress and model
Vanessa Hessler, American-Italian model and actress
Vanessa Hudgens (born 1988), American actress and singer
Vanessa Huppenkothen, Mexican model, actress, and presenter
Vanessa King, Canadian actress
Vanessa Kirby, British actress
Vanessa Krasniqi (born 1994), Albanian-German singer
Vanessa Koutouan (born 1988), Ivorian women's rights activist
Vanessa Lachey (born 1980), American television personality, television host, and actress
Vanessa Lengies (born 1985), Canadian actress
Vanessa de Lisle, British fashion journalist
Vanessa Lloyd-Davies (1960–2005), British doctor, equestrian and soldier
Vanessa Mae (born 1978), Singapore-born British violinist and Olympic alpine skier
Vanessa Mai (born 1992), German singer
Vanessa Marano (born 1992), American actress
Vanessa Marcil (born 1958), American actress
Vanessa Marcotte (1989–2016), American murder victim
Vanessa Marques (born 1996), Portuguese football player
Vanessa Marquez (1968–2018), American actress
Vanessa Marshall (born 1969), American actress and voice actress
Vanessa Mdee (born 1988), Tanzanian singer and TV personality
Vanessa Merrell (born 1996), American actress (temporary role in Jane the Virgin) and YouTuber
Vanessa Morgan (born 1992), Canadian actress
Vanessa Paradis (born 1972), French actress and singer
Vanessa Porto (born 1984), Brazilian mixed martial artist
Vanessa Ray (born 1981), American actress
Vanessa Redgrave (born 1937), English actress and political activist
Vanessa Rivas (1984-1999), a 4-time POGs championship finalist. Rivas was killed in a gang-related drive-by shooting.
Vanessa Rousso (born 1983), American poker player
Vanessa C. Tyson, American political scientist
Vanessa Uri, birth name of Filipina actress Halina Perez (1983–2004)
Vanessa Ward (née Browne) (born 1963), Australian high jumper
Vanessa Watts (born 1987), West Indian cricketer
Vanessa White (born 1989), English singer with The Saturdays
Vanessa Estelle Williams (sometimes professionally Vanessa A. Williams) (born 1963), American actress
Vanessa Williams (sometimes professionally Vanessa L. Williams) (born 1963), American model, singer, songwriter, and actress
Vanessa R. Williams (born 1960), American gospel singer
Vanessa Zahorian, American ballet dancer
Fictional characters
Vanessa (King of Fighters), a character in SNK Playmore's The King of Fighters video game series
Vanessa (The Little Mermaid), a character in Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, the name of the human form taken by the villain Ursula to seduce Prince Eric
Vanessa Diodati, a character in the anime series Symphogear
Vanessa Abrams, a character in the CW television series Gossip Girl
Vanessa Chamberlain Lewis, a character from CBS' longest-running soap opera, Guiding Light
Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, Dr. Doofensmirtz's daughter in the animated television series Phineas and Ferb
Vanessa Fisk, wife of mobster Wilson Fisk, Kingpin of Crime in the Marvel Comic Universe
Vanessa Gold, a character from the British soap opera, EastEnders
Vanessa Huxtable, a character in the American television sitcom The Cosby Show
Vanessa Ives, a character of tremendous power and importance in Penny Dreadful
Vanessa "Nessa" Jenkins, from the British comedy series Gavin & Stacey
Vanessa "Nessie" Kapatelis, supporting character in the Wonder Woman comic book series
Vanessa Kensington, British secret agent from the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Vanessa Lewis, a character in the Virtua Fighter video game series
Vanessa Villante, a character from the Australian soap opera, Neighbours
Vanessa Woodfield, a character from the British soap opera, Emmerdale
Vanessa "Ness" Carlysle, supporting character from Deadpool
Vanessa, a character from the animated series The Hollow
Vanessa Van Helsing, the titular main character of the television series Van Helsing
Vanessa Hysel, a character and minor antagonist in the 2018 Square Enix game Octopath Traveler
Vanessa, the protagonist of the mobile rhythm game Cytus and central character in the sequel Cytus II
Vanessa, the security guard in the 2021 game Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach
Queen Vanessa, an enemy from the 2017 video game A Hat in Time
References
External links
English feminine given names
English given names invented by fiction writers
Feminine given names
Italian feminine given names
German feminine given names