Vannesa
A feminine name derived from the Scandinavian name Vanhede, meaning "beauty".
Name Census estimates that about 1,175 living Americans carry the first name Vannesa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vannesa today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vannesa births was 1990 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vannesa. 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.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 291,706 Americans
Peak year
1990
54 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2018 SSA rank
#15,550
Tracked since 1955
Census
Vannesa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,345 people with the first name Vannesa, which placed it at #10,052 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,052
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
76.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vannesa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vannesa is Hispanic at 76.5%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vannesa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vannesa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.5% · 1,029
- White11.7% · 157
- Black or African American5.8% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 54
- Two or more races1.2% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 11
Popularity
Vannesa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vannesa from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 444 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vannesa 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 Vannesa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vannesas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Vannesa, while Florida, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 127 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vannesa
Vannesa is a feminine given name with uncertain origins, though it is believed to have roots in the Latin language. Some scholars trace it back to the Latin word "vannus," which means "winnowing fan" or "fan used for separating grain from chaff." The name may have been derived as a reference to the process of winnowing, which separates the valuable from the worthless.
Another possible origin lies in the Latin word "vanus," meaning "empty" or "vain." This could suggest that the name Vannesa was initially used to describe someone who was perceived as vain or superficial. However, the precise etymology remains a matter of debate among linguists and name experts.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Vannesa date back to the late Middle Ages in Europe. It is believed to have been used sporadically in various regions, particularly in Italy and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until more recent centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Vannesa was Vannesa de Valladolid, a Spanish noblewoman who lived in the 15th century. She was known for her involvement in court intrigues and political machinations during the reign of King Juan II of Castile.
In the 16th century, Vannesa Colonna was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was renowned for her support of artists and intellectuals during the Renaissance period, and her salon in Rome was a gathering place for some of the era's most influential thinkers and creators.
The 17th century saw the birth of Vannesa Capello, an Italian courtier and mistress of Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici of Tuscany. Despite her controversial position as a mistress, she was known for her intelligence and influence in the Medici court.
In the 18th century, Vannesa Rosecea was a French botanist and naturalist. She made significant contributions to the study of plant life and is credited with discovering and cataloging numerous species of flora in her native France.
Moving into the 19th century, Vannesa Boucicault was an Irish-American actress and playwright. She gained fame for her performances on the stages of London and New York, and her plays were popular successes in their time.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Vannesa. While the name has experienced varying levels of popularity over the centuries, it continues to be used and appreciated for its unique and intriguing origins.
People
Vannesa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vannesa 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
Vannesa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vannesa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vannesa 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 291,706 US residents.
Is Vannesa a common name?
We classify Vannesa as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,220 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vannesa most popular?
The single biggest year for Vannesa was 1990, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vannesa is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vannesa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,345 people with the name Vannesa, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,052 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vannesa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vannesa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vannesa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,347 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vannesa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vannesa is Hispanic at 76.5%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Black (5.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vannesa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Vannesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (1,029 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Vannesa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vannesa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vannesa 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 Vannesa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vannesa 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 Vannesa 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.
How many people are named Vannesa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.