How Many People Are Named Vanessa?
An estimated 242,980 people in the United States have the first name Vanessa. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #210 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 37 years old, and Vanessa peaked in popularity in 1985 with 7,606 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Vanessa as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Vanessa paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Vanessa is overwhelmingly female, 984 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
242,980
About 1 in 1,411 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
37
years old
Peak Year
1985
7,606 births
Total Registered
261,777
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Vanessa
Vanessa is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 261,777 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Vanessa as a male name
Ranked #13,941 in 2014
5 male births in 2014
Peak: 1988 (72 births)
Vanessa as a female name
Ranked #335 in 2024
933 female births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (7,564 births)
Vanessa: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Vanessa span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 66,184 babies were registered. Vanessa has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Vanessa by Decade
How has Vanessa tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Vanessa by State
Birth registrations for Vanessa span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Vermont, Wyoming, North Dakota. On average, about 5,090 Vanessas were registered per state.
Vanessa + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanessa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Vanessa
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
Vanessa: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanessa?
We estimate approximately 242,980 people named Vanessa are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,411 Americans share this first name.
Is Vanessa a common name?
Vanessa is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 261,777 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Vanessa most popular?
Vanessa reached peak popularity in 1985, when 7,606 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Vanessa is approximately 37 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Vanessa a female name?
Vanessa is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Vanessa Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Vanessa Smith, Vanessa Johnson, Vanessa Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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