Tags: Given Name, Name.
Vanessa is a feminine given name especially popular in the United States. It was invented by the Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh whom Swift had met in 1708 and whom he tutored. The name was created by taking Van from Vanhomrigh’s last name and adding Essa a pet form of Esther.In 1726 the name Vanessa appeared in print for the first time in Cadenus and Vanessa an autobiographical poem about Swift’s relationship with Vanhomrigh.