ninan.org

Vanessa

Girls' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~252,400 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#377 among girls
Births in 2025
813 262,606 since 1880
Typical age
36 years, median

Vanessa popularity over time

Vanessa rank by birth year, 1900–2025Vanessa ranked #1,723 in 1900 and #377 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #41, in 1988.#100#1,000#377best #41 in 19881920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1900–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Vanessa in 1985 than in any other year — 7,605 of them. 1900 is the earliest year with at least five recorded births. Vanessa has spent 33 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #377, on 813 births. Compared with 2015, births are down 53%. Year on year the rank dropped by 43.

Babies named Vanessa per yearPeaks at 7,605 births in 1985.7,605 in 198501920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Vanessa?

An estimated 252,400 living Americans are called Vanessa. That is out of 262,606 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Vanessa?

Half of living Vanessas are older than 36, half younger. The 1980s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Vanessa a late 20th-century name.

Your Vanessa

Ages of living people named VanessaHalf of living Vanessas are older than 36 and half younger.median 36020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Vanessa is most common

Vanessa is 2.2× as common in Nevada as it is nationally. Washington, California and Florida follow.

Where Vanessa is used more than average5 states use the name Vanessa more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.6× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: 2.2× the national rateNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.4× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.6× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.4× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Vanessa is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Nevada 172 2.2×
Washington 367 1.6×
California 2,093 1.6×
Florida 896 1.4×
New Jersey 368 1.4×

Vanessa in England and Wales

ONS recorded 51 births named Vanessa in 2025, ranking it #719.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Vanessa comes from

As a pseudonym for a lady friend named Esther Vanhomrigh (or Van Homrigh), an Irish woman of Dutch descent, by taking the Dutch preposition van from her surname and adding -essa (perhaps influenced by the first syllable of Esther).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Vanessa

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Vanessa Hudgens American actress and singer 1988 84
Vanessa Paradis French singer, model and actress 1972 74
Vanessa Redgrave British actress and activist 1937 73
Vanessa Williams American actress, singer and former Miss America 1963 56
Vanessa Kirby British actress 1988 56
Vanessa Nakate Ugandan climate change activist 1996 40
Vanessa Carlton American singer-songwriter 1980 37
Vanessa Morgan Canadian actress, singer and model 1992 36
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 176 in 1951 to 695 in 1952 — 3.9 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/vanessa.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).