Female name
Vanessa
3,747 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 2010. Expression number: 9.
Origin
Coined by Jonathan Swift in the 18th century as a pseudonym for a lady friend named Esther Vanhomrigh (or Van Homrigh), an Irish woman of Dutch descent, by taking the Dutch preposition van from her surname and adding -essa (perhaps influenced by the first syllable of Esther).From Wiktionary, entry “Vanessa”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Do you know a Vanessa?
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 2010: 228 births. 3,747 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. It is still given: 343 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 1985: 7,605 births. 262,606 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. At its peak, it ranked 41st among girls' names in 1988. It really came into use around 1935. It is still given: 5,017 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 1975: 74 births. 2,122 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1970s to the 2010s. At its peak, it ranked 97th among girls' names in 1993. It really came into use around 1968. It is still given: 53 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 80,835 | 1900–2025 | 11th in 1988 |
| Switzerland | 12,149* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Quebec | 10,952 | 1980–2025 | 2nd in 1989 |
| Austria | 10,463 | 1984–2025 | 7th in 1998 |
| Berlin | 338 | 2012–2023 | 99th in 2012 |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
9
humanity, generosity, completion
4 + 1 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 18 → 9
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
7
reflection, inner life, seeking
1 + 5 + 1 = 7
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
11
intuition and inspiration (master number)
4 + 5 + 1 + 1 = 11
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.