Vanessa
A girls’ name of Modern American origin, meaning butterfly; invented by author James Barrie.
How Vanessa has moved
View as table
| Year | US rank |
|---|---|
| 2015 | #187 |
| 2016 | #197 |
| 2017 | #204 |
| 2018 | #231 |
| 2019 | #271 |
| 2020 | #209 |
| 2021 | #253 |
| 2022 | #311 |
| 2023 | #304 |
| 2024 | #335 |
| 2025 | #377 |
Vanessa by the numbers
In 2025, 51 babies in England and Wales were named Vanessa. In the US, 1,508 were, though that figure is from 2017, the most recent full year we hold.
For the size of the two countries, it is given several times more often in the US than in England and Wales.
Its American peak was 7,566 babies in 1985, so it is a 1980s name that has since fallen a long way.
At its height, in 1985, about 1 in 240 American girls born that year was called Vanessa.
Spelled almost the same
Other names in the records within a letter or two of Vanessa. Close spellings are not always related names, but they are usually worth seeing together.
Names about as common as Vanessa
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