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 Aleksander (born 1996), Polish actress
 * 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 (born 1969), 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 (born 1987), 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 (born 1962), English journalist and broadcaster
 * Vanessa Ferlito (born 1977), 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 (born 1983), 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 Herzog (born 1995), Austrian speed skater
 * Vanessa Hessler (born 1988), American-Italian model and actress
 * Vanessa Hudgens (born 1988), American actress and singer
 * Vanessa Huppenkothen (born 1984), Mexican model, actress, and presenter
 * Vanessa King (born 1980), Canadian actress
 * Vanessa Kirby (born 1988), 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 Lindores, Canadian actress who was a cast member on the Canadian sketch comedy TV series You Can't Do That on Television
 * 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
 * Vannesa Rosales (born 1989), Venezuelan activist and teacher
 * 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 (born 1978/1979), 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
 * Vanessa Lutz, a character from the 1996 film Freeway