# Vanessa

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /vəˈnɛsə/ · frequency rank #10,963

## Definitions
1. A female given name originating as a coinage.

## Etymology
Coined by Jonathan Swift 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).

## Common misspellings (8)
`avnessa`, `vaenssa`, `vanesa`, `vanesas`, `vannessa`, `vansesa`, `vnaessa`, `vvanessa`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/vanessa