Given name
Vanesa
“resembling a butterfly”
Vanesa is a variant of Vanessa. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a butterfly.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Vanesa is a variant of Vanessa. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a butterfly.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Vanesa is a variant of Vanessa. An origin associated with Vanessa is Greek.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From English Vanessa, built from Dutch van + English essa.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1953. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Vanesa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,544
- 5 boys · 6,539 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 271 babies
- 2025
- 28
- #4,872 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −25%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 28 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,872 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 271 in 2002. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,005 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vanesa’s family of names
Vanesa has a related form in Vanessa. In Spanish usage, Vanesa has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Vanessa. In Czech usage, Vanesa has a related form in Vanessa.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Vanesa has relatives in 8 languages.
6 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 7
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Vanesa
- Vanesa KaladzinskayaBelarusian wrestlerborn 1992
- Vanesa AmorósSpanish handball playerborn 1982
- Vanesa GimbertAssociation footballerborn 1980
- Vanesa LorenzoSpanish modelborn 1977
- Vanesa RomeroSpanish presenter, model and television presenterborn 1978
- Vanesa AgovićMontenegrin handball playerborn 1996
- Vanesa SantanaArgentine footballerborn 1990
- Vanesa ŠelmekováSlovak figure skaterborn 2007
- Vanessa RialSpanish rugby player (1982-)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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