Vanessa is a moderately popular girls' name in United States, ranking #335 in 2024 with 933 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 1998 with 5,830 births ranking #52. Since 1996, the popularity has decreased by 83.8%. In 2024, approximately 1 in every 1,729 girls born was named Vanessa. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Vanessa is a graceful literary name with a long-established modern history. It feels polished and familiar, even though it began as an invented form rather than an ancient traditional name.
Created in the eighteenth century by Jonathan Swift, Vanessa later became widely used and fully naturalised as a girls' name. Its success shows how literary inventions can become real classics.