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Vanessa

The name Vanessa peaked for boys at #1202 in 1988. Vanessa is also used for girls, ranking #377 in 2025.

The name Vanessa is a girl's name of English origin.

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Vanessa was invented by writer Jonathan Swift for a lover named Esther Vanhomrigh—he combined the first syllable of her last name with the initial syllable of her first. Swift used it in the poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713. A century later, Johan Christian Fabricius used Vanessa as the name of a genus of butterfly.
 
Vanessa was one of the ultra-feminine three-syllable hits of the eighties, but has proved to have had more staying power than others like Tiffany, Kimberly, and Melissa, due to its classic beauty.
 Vanessa Redgrave is the doyenne of the renowned Redgrave family; Vanessa Hudgens, the young actor and singer from High School Musical is a more youthful bearer. On TV there have been Vanessas on The Cosby Show, Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries.

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The name Vanessa is currently ranked #377 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #41 in 1988. The name is most popular in VANESSA, VANESSA, and VANESSA. Vanessa is occasionally used for boys in 2014.

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Year	US rank	Births	Per million
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