Names That Mean Species

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.

Vanessa

Ptarmigan is the common English name for the genus Lagopus, in the grouse family of birds. The name is derived from the Scottish word for the bird, tàrmachan (meaning unknown), with the initial P- added by erroneous association with the Greek pteron ("wing"). 
Ptarmigan has been spotted on a baby girl in the Telegraph Birth Announcements, but there’s no reason this intriguing nature name couldn’t work for a boy, too. In fact, it sounds a bit Muskateer to many an ear, making it fabulous for the adventurous parent of a son.

Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan is the common English name for the genus Lagopus, in the grouse family of birds. The name is derived from the Scottish word for the bird, tàrmachan (meaning unknown), with the initial P- added by erroneous association with the Greek pteron ("wing"). Ptarmigan has been spotted on a baby girl in the Telegraph Birth Announcements.

Names That Mean Species

The names

Vanessa

Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan