Vanassa
Of Sanskrit origin, meaning "one who praises" or "praiseworthy".
Name Census estimates that about 313 living Americans carry the first name Vanassa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanassa today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanassa births was 1955 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanassa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
313
~ 1 in 1,095,062 Americans
Peak year
1955
21 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1999 SSA rank
#12,628
Tracked since 1953
Census
Vanassa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 286 people with the first name Vanassa, which placed it at #30,451 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#30,451
National first-name rank
People counted
286
286 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
36.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanassa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vanassa is Black at 36.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.6%) and White (21.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Vanassa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Vanassa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American36.0% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino33.6% · 96
- White21.7% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 12
- Two or more races3.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Vanassa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanassa from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 104 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanassa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Vanassa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vanassas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Vanassa
The name Vanassa is a highly unusual and enigmatic name whose origins are shrouded in mystery. It is believed to have emerged from the ancient Sanskrit language, which was the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the language of classical Indian literature and philosophy. The name's roots can be traced back to the ancient Vedic texts, which are among the oldest surviving literary works in the world, dating back to around the 2nd millennium BCE.
While the precise meaning of Vanassa remains uncertain, scholars have proposed several possible interpretations based on its linguistic roots. One theory suggests that it may be derived from the Sanskrit word "vana," which means "forest" or "wilderness," combined with the suffix "-assa," which could indicate a connection to nature or the natural world. Another interpretation suggests that Vanassa may be linked to the Sanskrit word "vanasya," meaning "desire" or "longing," implying a deep yearning or aspiration.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Vanassa remains exceedingly rare throughout recorded history. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic poem composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this Sanskrit text, a minor character named Vanassa is mentioned, though little is known about their significance or role in the epic.
Over the centuries, only a handful of notable figures have borne the name Vanassa. One of the most prominent was Vanassa Gupta (c. 320-380 CE), a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of trigonometry and the calculation of planetary positions. Her groundbreaking work, which influenced scholars across the Indian subcontinent and beyond, earned her the title "Jewel of the Indian Sky."
Another historical figure of note was Vanassa Devi (c. 1550-1620), a revered Hindu mystic and poet from the Kashmir region. Her devotional verses, which celebrated the divine beauty of nature and the human soul's connection to the cosmos, have been widely studied and recited by spiritual seekers for centuries.
In more recent times, the name Vanassa gained some recognition with the birth of Vanassa Saraswati (1876-1947), a pioneering Indian feminist and social reformer. As the founder of one of India's first women's organizations, Saraswati fought tirelessly for women's rights, education, and empowerment, inspiring generations of activists and advocates.
Another notable figure was Vanassa Ramakrishnan (1918-2001), a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. Her mesmerizing performances and innovative contributions to the art of Bharatanatyam, one of India's most ancient dance forms, earned her numerous accolades and a revered place in the annals of Indian cultural history.
While the name Vanassa remains exceedingly rare and its origins somewhat enigmatic, its connection to the ancient Sanskrit language and the rich cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent imbue it with a sense of mystery and depth that continues to captivate scholars and linguists alike.
People
Vanassa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanassa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vanassa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanassa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 313 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanassa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,095,062 US residents.
Is Vanassa a common name?
We classify Vanassa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanassa most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanassa was 1955, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanassa is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vanassa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 286 people with the name Vanassa, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,451 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Vanassa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Vanassa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vanassa appears almost entirely female. Of the 285 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Vanassa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vanassa is Black at 36.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (33.6%) and White (21.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Vanassa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Vanassa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 36.0% (103 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Vanassa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vanassa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanassa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Vanassa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vanassa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Vanassa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Vanassa?
Want to know how many Americans are named Vanassa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.