Vanessa

#377 for girls in 2025, 813 births · Last seen for boys in 2014 at #12,108
Given to girls 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1988 · 7,516 births
Debut · girls
6 births
In top 100 · girls
33 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
261,622
since 1900

Vanessa over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201936peak #41, 1988girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#377813—
2024#334938—
2023#3041,014—
2022#3111,026—
2021#2531,226—
2020#2091,384—
2019#2711,224—
2018#2311,378—
2017#2031,521—
2016#1971,664—
2015#1871,729—
2014#1711,927#12,1085
2013#1522,095#9,6557
2012#1232,554—
2011#1202,620#10,8086
2010#1072,888#10,7666
2009#913,523—
2008#784,032#11,0376
2007#714,447#8,9158
2006#794,169#10,6626
2005#804,095#8,2998
2004#754,350#7,5369
2003#704,352#9,5816
2002#684,455#10,6675
2001#644,672#7,5368
2000#625,134#5,58812
1999#575,287#6,04210
1998#525,830#4,87313
1997#545,796#3,45520
1996#605,746#3,83017
1995#635,404#3,85416
1994#595,552#3,59618
1993#555,890#2,45530
1992#556,080#2,41230
1991#565,926#2,46928
1990#566,409#2,21432
1989#506,962#1,53753
1988#417,516#1,18972
1987#437,348#1,53446
1986#437,469#1,51144
1985#427,563#1,54442
1984#457,156#1,45843
1983#486,388#1,19058
1982#496,154#1,27853
1981#624,749#2,13824
1980#694,426#2,36721
1979#754,102#2,66917
1978#763,853#3,21512
1977#903,209#2,79115
1976#1062,463#3,47110
1975#1152,440#2,75114
1974#1222,353#3,5589
1973#1342,144#3,22310
1972#1332,280#3,3449
1971#1292,657#3,14610
1970#1382,576#4,7245
1969#1472,234#3,9356
1968#1811,797#4,1365
1967#1701,869#3,5596
1966#1971,643#2,9868
1965#2031,632#3,5376
1964#1832,056#3,0508
1963#1882,032—
1962#1752,244#3,3057
1961#1532,765#2,9009
1960#1542,711#3,0778
1959#1393,120#2,20014
1958#1482,744#2,64210
1957#1592,379#3,0248
1956#1452,617—
1955#1402,698#3,2017
1954#1422,643#2,7439
1953#1632,007—
1952#303695—
1951#656176—
1950#93791—
1949#1,07070—
1948#1,05769—
1947#1,17059—
1946#2,59714—
1945#1,94119—
1944#2,51113—
1943#3,04010—
1942#2,21416—
1941#2,66811—
1940#2,20314—
1939#3,4297—
1938#2,11315—
1937#1,91417—
1936#1,69120—
1935#1,26432—
1934——
1933#3,4067—
1932#3,0479—
1931#3,4977—
1930#2,84510—
1929#4,5705—
1928#4,1956—
1927#4,8055—
1926——
1925#3,3629—
1924——
1923#3,3509—
1922#4,4456—
1921#5,0995—
1920#4,3986—
1919#4,2516—
1918——
1917#4,0836—
1916#3,2588—
1915#2,68810—
1914——
1913#3,1875—
1912——
1911——
1910——
1909——
1908——
1907——
1906——
1905——
1904——
1903——
1902——
1901——
1900#1,7236—
1899——
1898——
1897——
1896——
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1893——
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First appearance
1900

The first year at least five girls were named Vanessa! It came in at #1,723, and was given to 6 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1901–1914, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.

Where Vanessa is popular in 1936

No state had 5 or more girls named Vanessa in 1936, so the SSA doesn't publish it for any state.

See more about Vanessa
Momentum · girls
Falling
  • 43 spots since 2024 (#334 → #377)
  • 168 spots since 2020 (#209 → #377)
  • 190 spots since 2015 (#187 → #377)
  • Biggest jump: 353 spots in 1952 (#656 → #303)
  • Biggest drop: 58 spots in 2022 (#253 → #311)
Rise & fade · girls
88 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1900
  • Peaked 1988 at #41 (7,516 births)
  • Births halved by 2009, 21 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 100 for 33 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 33 yrs · run 1977–2009
  • Top 1,000: 76 yrs · run 1950–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 228
  • Highest: 1 in 228 girls born in 1985 were named Vanessa (0.44%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,977 girls born in 2025 (0.05%)
  • Its best rank, #41 in 1988, was only 1 in 237 (0.42%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1980s
  • 25.1% of all girls named Vanessa (65,731) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1900s6#1,723 (1900)#1,723
1910s35#2,688 (1915)#3,493
1920s51#3,350 (1923)#4,278
1930s124#1,264 (1935)#2,578
1940s295#1,057 (1948)#2,047
1950s19,170#139 (1959)#293
1960s20,983#147 (1969)#175
1970s28,077#75 (1979)#112
1980s65,731#41 (1988)#49
1990s57,920#52 (1998)#57
2000s43,229#62 (2000)#74
2010s19,600#107 (2010)#176
2020s6,401#209 (2020)#298

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Vanessa in 1936

girls
#1,691
20 births · 1 in 52,020 girls

Top girls' names in 1936

  1. #1Mary54,377
  2. #2Shirley35,161
  3. #3Barbara31,682
  4. #4Betty25,868
  5. #5Patricia23,916
  6. #6Dorothy17,666
  7. #7Joan17,072
  8. #8Nancy16,755
  9. #9Margaret14,596
  10. #10Carol14,520
  11. #1,691Vanessa20
More about 1936

girls

1,040,390 girls got a published name in 1936; 1 in 52,020 of them was named Vanessa, which outranked 65.2% of the 4,856 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.2% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Vanessa
  1. #1,640Vella21
  2. #1,640Verta21
  3. #1,640Zetta21
  4. #1,691Vanessa20
  5. #1,691April20
  6. #1,691Aretta20
  7. #1,691Arie20
  8. #1,741Agustina19
  9. #1,741Argie19
  10. #1,741Babette19

Tied with 49 names at #1,691; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1935
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,238Shelba#3,742 → #504
  2. ↑ 662Shelby#840 → #178
  3. ↑ 600Wendy#1,418 → #818
  4. ↑ 588Deanna#1,356 → #768
  5. ↑ 546Shari#1,514 → #968
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,028Norita#713 → #1,741
  2. ↓ 506Vernetta#974 → #1,480
  3. ↓ 461Ozella#984 → #1,445
  4. ↓ 400Shirleyann#896 → #1,296
  5. ↓ 342Idell#925 → #1,267

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1936 →