Vanessah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from the ancient Greek term for 'butterfly'.
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Vanessah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanessah today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanessah births was 2006 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanessah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vanessah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
2006
6 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2012 SSA rank
#19,368
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Vanessah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanessah from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Vanessah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanessah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Vanessah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vanessah
The given name Vanessah is derived from the name Vanessa, which has its origins in the early 18th century. It was coined by Jonathan Swift, the famous Anglo-Irish satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels, in his 1713 poem "Cadenus and Vanessa." He created the name Vanessa as a pet name for his close friend Esther Vanhomrigh, combining the first syllable of her surname with the Greek word "Essa," meaning "born on the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist."
While the name Vanessa gained popularity in the English-speaking world after Swift's poem, the variant spelling Vanessah is relatively rare. It is believed to have emerged as a feminine form of the name, potentially influenced by the Hebrew name Vanessa, which means "butterfly" or "little butterfly."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Vanessah can be traced back to the late 18th century. Vanessah Randolph, an American woman from Virginia, was born in 1794 and is noted for her involvement in the early abolitionist movement.
In the 19th century, Vanessah Parsons, an American actress and singer, graced the stage with her performances. She was born in 1831 and achieved fame in various theatrical productions during the mid-1800s.
Another notable figure with the name Vanessah is Vanessah Vazquez-Lozada, a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer born in 1963. She served as a member of the Puerto Rico Senate from 2005 to 2009.
Vanessah Jarrett, a British actress and writer, was born in 1971. She is known for her roles in various television series and films, including "East Is East" and "Shameless."
Lastly, Vanessah Burton, an American model and actress, was born in 1986. She has appeared in several popular television shows, such as "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "How I Met Your Mother."
While the name Vanessah is not as widely used as its more common counterpart, Vanessa, it has a rich history and has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries, each leaving their mark in various fields.
People
Vanessah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanessah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vanessah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanessah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanessah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Vanessah a common name?
We classify Vanessah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanessah most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanessah was 2006, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanessah is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Vanessah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vanessah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanessah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Vanessah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vanessah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Vanessah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Vanessah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Vanessah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.