Gender Feminine
Pronounced Pron. /və.ˈnɛs.ə/(English) /va.nɛ.sa/(French) /va.ˈnes.sa/(Italian) /vɐ.ˈnɛ.sɐ/(European Portuguese) /va.ˈnɛ.sɐ/(Brazilian Portuguese) /ba.ˈne.sa/(Spanish) /va.ˈnɛ.sa/(German) /vɑ.ˈnɛ.saː/(Dutch)
Meaning & History
Invented by author Jonathan Swift for his 1726 poem Cadenus and Vanessa [1]. He arrived at it by rearranging the initial syllables of the first name and surname of Esther Vanhomrigh, his close friend. Vanessa was later used as the name of a genus of butterfly. It was a rare given name until the mid-20th century, at which point it became fairly popular.