Baby names info for VANESSA:

• Gender: girl
• Syllables: 3
• Characters: 7
• Pronunciation: va-NES-sa

Origin and Meaning:

• Greek meaning of the name VANESSA for a girl:
  • butterfly

• Irish meaning of the name VANESSA for a girl:
  • The name Vanessa was invented by 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 the last name Vanhomrigh and adding "Essa", the pet form of Esther

Baby Names Popularity:

• VANESSA is the 91^st most popular girl's name in the United States.

(Check for the popularity of VANESSA in previous years and other countries)

Alternate Forms and Spellings:

• VANECIA VANESA VANESHA VANESIA VANESSZA VANEZA VENESSA VINESSA

Nicknames:

• NESSA

VANESSA appears in the following lists of names:

• American Idol Finalists
• Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2008
• Disney actors and actresses
• Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2009
• Miss America pageant winners
• Miss World 2007 pageant contestants