Meaning not yet researched.
Vanessa: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 813 in 2025. Its best rank was #41 in 1988.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #41 in 1988; #377 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Vanessa in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#377 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1988, at #41.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Vanessa: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 813 girls in 2025. Peak: #41 in 1988 · most girls in one year: 7,563 (1985).
In 2025, 813 US girls were named Vanessa, making it the 377th most common girls’ name of the year, down 42 places from #335 in 2024. That is 125 fewer than the 938 girls named Vanessa in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #41, reached in 1988. The most girls given the name in a single year was 7,563, in 1985. For comparison, it was #187 in 2015 and #943 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Vanessa in 109 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1900 with 6 babies. In all, 262,606 US babies have been given the name, 99.6% of them girls and 0.4% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1980s, with 66,187 babies named Vanessa.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 12,188 US girls were named Vanessa; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 1,664. In 2025 that was about 1 in 1,977 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Vanessa ranked highest in Hawaii in 2025, at #211 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Vanesa (6,544 babies since 1880) and Vannessa (3,231 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Vannesa, Vaneza and Vanassa are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Essa, Nessa and Vanna.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch, English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Vannesa (1,220), Vaneza (399), Vanassa (369), Vanissa (239), Vanezza (39), Vanessah (16), Vaneeza (15), Vanisa (12), Vaneesa (10).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 16 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 5 | #211 | — |
| Nevada | 12 | #232 | #121 |
| Florida | 73 | #262 | #183 |
| California | 116 | #283 | #114 |
| Illinois | 38 | #289 | #187 |
| Wisconsin | 19 | #294 | #329 |
| Iowa | 12 | #299 | #219 |
| Idaho | 8 | #307 | #245 |
| Washington | 24 | #312 | #206 |
| Michigan | 29 | #315 | #209 |
| North Carolina | 34 | #330 | #207 |
| Texas | 101 | #344 | #152 |
| Oregon | 11 | #351 | #211 |
| Arizona | 20 | #355 | #124 |
| New York | 47 | #366 | #166 |
| Minnesota | 14 | #395 | #223 |
| New Jersey | 20 | #402 | #122 |
| Georgia | 27 | #430 | #263 |
| Kansas | 8 | #442 | #296 |
| Connecticut | 7 | #455 | #142 |
| Colorado | 13 | #455 | #294 |
| Missouri | 13 | #479 | #326 |
| Utah | 9 | #488 | #258 |
| Mississippi | 6 | #512 | — |
| Virginia | 15 | #539 | #202 |
| Pennsylvania | 20 | #556 | #248 |
| Ohio | 19 | #561 | #278 |
| Indiana | 12 | #574 | #177 |
| Maryland | 9 | #599 | #450 |
| Tennessee | 13 | #601 | #314 |
| South Carolina | 8 | #612 | #314 |
| Kentucky | 7 | #649 | #458 |
| Alabama | 7 | #709 | #307 |
| Massachusetts | 7 | #758 | #203 |
| Louisiana | 6 | #771 | #771 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 813 | #377 | — | — |
| 2024 | 938 | #335 | — | — |
| 2023 | 1,014 | #304 | — | — |
| 2022 | 1,026 | #311 | — | — |
| 2021 | 1,226 | #253 | — | — |
| 2020 | 1,384 | #209 | — | — |
| 2019 | 1,224 | #272 | — | — |
| 2018 | 1,378 | #231 | — | — |
| 2017 | 1,521 | #203 | — | — |
| 2016 | 1,664 | #197 | — | — |
| 2015 | 1,729 | #187 | — | — |
| 2014 | 1,927 | #171 | 5 | #13,944 |
| 2013 | 2,095 | #152 | 7 | #10,658 |
| 2012 | 2,554 | #123 | — | — |
| 2011 | 2,620 | #120 | 6 | #12,193 |
| 2010 | 2,888 | #107 | 6 | #12,122 |
| 2009 | 3,523 | #91 | — | — |
| 2008 | 4,032 | #78 | 6 | #12,460 |
| 2007 | 4,447 | #71 | 8 | #9,735 |
| 2006 | 4,169 | #79 | 6 | #11,974 |
| 2005 | 4,095 | #80 | 8 | #9,051 |
| 2004 | 4,350 | #75 | 9 | #8,115 |
| 2003 | 4,352 | #70 | 6 | #10,821 |
| 2002 | 4,455 | #68 | 5 | #12,396 |
| 2001 | 4,672 | #64 | 8 | #8,295 |
| 2000 | 5,134 | #62 | 12 | #5,894 |
| 1999 | 5,287 | #57 | 10 | #6,506 |
| 1998 | 5,830 | #52 | 13 | #5,149 |
| 1997 | 5,796 | #54 | 20 | #3,594 |
| 1996 | 5,746 | #60 | 17 | #4,011 |
| 1995 | 5,404 | #63 | 16 | #4,042 |
| 1994 | 5,552 | #59 | 18 | #3,742 |
| 1993 | 5,890 | #55 | 30 | #2,503 |
| 1992 | 6,080 | #55 | 30 | #2,464 |
| 1991 | 5,926 | #56 | 28 | #2,539 |
| 1990 | 6,409 | #56 | 32 | #2,253 |
| 1989 | 6,962 | #50 | 53 | #1,548 |
| 1988 | 7,516 | #41 | 72 | #1,201 |
| 1987 | 7,348 | #43 | 46 | #1,561 |
| 1986 | 7,469 | #43 | 44 | #1,534 |
| 1985 | 7,563 | #42 | 42 | #1,566 |
| 1984 | 7,156 | #45 | 43 | #1,479 |
| 1983 | 6,388 | #49 | 58 | #1,202 |
| 1982 | 6,154 | #49 | 53 | #1,292 |
| 1981 | 4,749 | #62 | 24 | #2,201 |
| 1980 | 4,426 | #69 | 21 | #2,440 |
| 1979 | 4,102 | #75 | 17 | #2,772 |
| 1978 | 3,853 | #76 | 12 | #3,389 |
| 1977 | 3,209 | #90 | 15 | #2,902 |
| 1976 | 2,463 | #106 | 10 | #3,711 |
| 1975 | 2,440 | #115 | 14 | #2,893 |
| 1974 | 2,353 | #122 | 9 | #3,824 |
| 1973 | 2,144 | #134 | 10 | #3,437 |
| 1972 | 2,280 | #133 | 9 | #3,606 |
| 1971 | 2,657 | #129 | 10 | #3,354 |
| 1970 | 2,576 | #138 | 5 | #5,401 |
| 1969 | 2,234 | #147 | 6 | #4,385 |
| 1968 | 1,797 | #181 | 5 | #4,718 |
| 1967 | 1,869 | #170 | 6 | #3,952 |
| 1966 | 1,643 | #197 | 8 | #3,236 |
| 1965 | 1,632 | #203 | 6 | #3,906 |
| 1964 | 2,056 | #183 | 8 | #3,270 |
| 1963 | 2,032 | #188 | — | — |
| 1962 | 2,244 | #175 | 7 | #3,621 |
| 1961 | 2,765 | #153 | 9 | #3,081 |
| 1960 | 2,711 | #155 | 8 | #3,323 |
| 1959 | 3,120 | #139 | 14 | #2,290 |
| 1958 | 2,744 | #148 | 10 | #2,803 |
| 1957 | 2,379 | #159 | 8 | #3,243 |
| 1956 | 2,617 | #145 | — | — |
| 1955 | 2,698 | #140 | 7 | #3,487 |
| 1954 | 2,643 | #142 | 9 | #2,934 |
| 1953 | 2,007 | #164 | — | — |
| 1952 | 695 | #303 | — | — |
| 1951 | 176 | #657 | — | — |
| 1950 | 91 | #943 | — | — |
| 1949 | 70 | #1,076 | — | — |
| 1948 | 69 | #1,069 | — | — |
| 1947 | 59 | #1,181 | — | — |
| 1946 | 14 | #2,731 | — | — |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,988 | — | — |
| 1944 | 13 | #2,617 | — | — |
| 1943 | 10 | #3,231 | — | — |
| 1942 | 16 | #2,307 | — | — |
| 1941 | 11 | #2,832 | — | — |
| 1940 | 14 | #2,291 | — | — |
| 1939 | 7 | #3,758 | — | — |
| 1938 | 15 | #2,212 | — | — |
| 1937 | 17 | #1,994 | — | — |
| 1936 | 20 | #1,739 | — | — |
| 1935 | 32 | #1,304 | — | — |
| 1933 | 7 | #3,719 | — | — |
| 1932 | 9 | #3,256 | — | — |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,816 | — | — |
| 1930 | 10 | #3,040 | — | — |
| 1929 | 5 | #5,231 | — | — |
| 1928 | 6 | #4,688 | — | — |
| 1927 | 5 | #5,550 | — | — |
| 1925 | 9 | #3,640 | — | — |
| 1923 | 9 | #3,623 | — | — |
| 1922 | 6 | #4,967 | — | — |
| 1921 | 5 | #5,808 | — | — |
| 1920 | 6 | #4,929 | — | — |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,770 | — | — |
| 1917 | 6 | #4,556 | — | — |
| 1916 | 8 | #3,527 | — | — |
| 1915 | 10 | #2,884 | — | — |
| 1913 | 5 | #3,667 | — | — |
| 1900 | 6 | #1,919 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).