Vanesa
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- va-NESS-a
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,101 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #4,757 for girls
Vanesa is a girls' name of English origin. In 2025 it ranked 3,101st for girls in the UK (8 babies) and 4,757th for girls in the US (28 babies).
What does Vanesa mean?
English: Spanish and Central European spelling of Vanessa
A spelling of Vanessa, the name coined by Jonathan Swift from the name of his friend Esther Vanhomrigh.
Is Vanesa a girl's or a boy's name?
Vanesa is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 girls in the UK and 28 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Vanesa in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,101st among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 35,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 56% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 8 girls in the UK were named Vanesa, making it the 3,101st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,948th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 52 girls.
Half of all the girls named Vanesa in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 64 girls in the UK were given Vanesa or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #604, up from #3,101 for this spelling alone.
- Vanessa 56
- Vanesa 8
Among girls in 2025, it was 3,033rd in England and Wales.
Vanesa in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #3,101 |
| 2024 | 7 | #3,381 |
| 2023 | 14 | #2,070 |
| 2022 | 14 | #2,052 |
| 2021 | 14 | #2,069 |
| 2020 | 15 | #1,948 |
| 2019 | 21 | #1,531 |
| 2018 | 30 | #1,210 |
| 2017 | 34 | #1,104 |
| 2016 | 52 | #816 |
| 2015 | 39 | #994 |
| 2014 | 51 | #819 |
| 2013 | 46 | #882 |
| 2012 | 50 | #831 |
| 2011 | 31 | #1,165 |
| 2010 | 39 | #949 |
| 2009 | 25 | #1,285 |
| 2008 | 35 | #978 |
| 2007 | 24 | #1,243 |
| 2006 | 20 | #1,364 |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,555 |
| 2004 | 9 | #2,226 |
| 2003 | 3 | #4,560 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 3 | #4,026 |
How popular is Vanesa in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,757th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 28 about 1 in 57,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 10% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 28 girls in the US were named Vanesa, making it the 4,757th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,483rd. Its busiest year was 2002, with 271 girls. It first appears in the records in 1953.
2025 had more girls named Vanesa than any year since 2019.
Half of all the girls named Vanesa in the US since 1880 were born between 1990 and 2006, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 841 girls in the US were given Vanesa or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #395, up from #4,757 for this spelling alone.
- Vanessa 813
- Vanesa 28
Vanesa in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | #4,757 |
| 2024 | 24 | #5,297 |
| 2023 | 24 | #5,245 |
| 2022 | 26 | #5,025 |
| 2021 | 23 | #5,394 |
| 2020 | 22 | #5,483 |
| 2019 | 32 | #4,342 |
| 2018 | 30 | #4,560 |
| 2017 | 41 | #3,696 |
| 2016 | 42 | #3,656 |
| 2015 | 54 | #3,092 |
| 2014 | 68 | #2,580 |
| 2013 | 84 | #2,211 |
| 2012 | 133 | #1,624 |
| 2011 | 108 | #1,857 |
| 2010 | 118 | #1,751 |
| 2009 | 175 | #1,358 |
| 2008 | 231 | #1,117 |
| 2007 | 236 | #1,100 |
| 2006 | 220 | #1,126 |
| 2005 | 209 | #1,125 |
| 2004 | 220 | #1,050 |
| 2003 | 240 | #966 |
| 2002 | 271 | #850 |
| 2001 | 217 | #988 |
| 2000 | 197 | #1,051 |
| 1999 | 213 | #969 |
| 1998 | 225 | #927 |
| 1997 | 246 | #839 |
| 1996 | 237 | #840 |
| 1995 | 183 | #1,011 |
| 1994 | 209 | #911 |
| 1993 | 164 | #1,098 |
| 1992 | 151 | #1,162 |
| 1991 | 166 | #1,084 |
| 1990 | 151 | #1,137 |
| 1989 | 136 | #1,193 |
| 1988 | 119 | #1,245 |
| 1987 | 119 | #1,209 |
| 1986 | 120 | #1,177 |
| 1985 | 120 | #1,178 |
| 1984 | 129 | #1,080 |
| 1983 | 116 | #1,144 |
| 1982 | 82 | #1,461 |
| 1981 | 67 | #1,700 |
| 1980 | 56 | #1,904 |
| 1979 | 51 | #1,998 |
| 1978 | 34 | #2,516 |
| 1977 | 48 | #2,002 |
| 1976 | 29 | #2,663 |
| 1975 | 25 | #2,881 |
| 1974 | 17 | #3,695 |
| 1973 | 12 | #4,585 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,714 |
| 1971 | 26 | #2,736 |
| 1970 | 16 | #3,711 |
| 1969 | 8 | #5,455 |
| 1968 | 13 | #3,788 |
| 1967 | 10 | #4,299 |
| 1966 | 10 | #4,197 |
| 1965 | 10 | #4,201 |
| 1964 | 15 | #3,378 |
| 1963 | 10 | #4,271 |
| 1962 | 14 | #3,437 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,059 |
| 1960 | 13 | #3,511 |
| 1959 | 9 | #4,299 |
| 1958 | 18 | #2,754 |
| 1957 | 9 | #4,201 |
| 1956 | 10 | #3,909 |
| 1955 | 5 | #5,826 |
| 1954 | 5 | #5,751 |
| 1953 | 7 | #4,594 |
Nicknames for Vanesa
- Nessa 20 girls in the UK in 2025
Names like Vanesa
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aisha, Ariana, Fatima, Sienna, Sophia, Amara, Aria, Eliana, Mia, Ava, Lucia, Lara
Other spellings of Vanesa
Names related to Vanesa
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Harper, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Vanesa: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/vanesa, updated 20 October 2026.