Vanissa
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from Vanice or Vanaisa.
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the first name Vanissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanissa today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanissa births was 1971 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanissa. 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
213
~ 1 in 1,609,175 Americans
Peak year
1971
14 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2003 SSA rank
#18,297
Tracked since 1955
Census
Vanissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 281 people with the first name Vanissa, which placed it at #30,797 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
#30,797
National first-name rank
People counted
281
281 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
32.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vanissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vanissa is White at 32.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (23.8%). 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 Vanissa 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 Vanissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White32.0% · 90
- Black or African American28.1% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino23.8% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.7% · 30
- Two or more races3.2% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 6
Popularity
Vanissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanissa from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanissa 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 Vanissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vanissa
Vanissa is a feminine given name with roots that can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit, the classical language of India. Its origins are believed to lie in the Sanskrit word "vanisha," which means "forest" or "woods." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with nature, tranquility, and the beauty of the natural world.
The name's earliest recorded usage can be found in ancient Hindu texts and manuscripts dating back to the 5th century BCE. In these ancient writings, Vanissa was often used as a name for goddesses or female deities associated with nature, fertility, and the cycle of life.
As the name spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, it underwent various phonetic and orthographic adaptations. In ancient Persian texts from the 6th century CE, the name appeared as "Vanisa," while in ancient Greek records from the 4th century BCE, it was written as "��butanissa."
One of the earliest recorded historical figures with this name was Vanissa, a Buddhist nun who lived in the 3rd century BCE in the ancient kingdom of Gandhara (now part of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). She was renowned for her wisdom and spiritual teachings, which were widely influential in the spread of Buddhism throughout South Asia.
Another notable figure was Vanissa, a princess from the Mauryan Empire who lived in the 3rd century BCE. She was renowned for her beauty and was said to have been courted by many suitors from across the ancient world.
In the 7th century CE, Vanissa was the name of a Persian princess who played a significant role in the diplomatic relations between the Persian and Byzantine empires. She was known for her intelligence and negotiation skills, which helped to maintain peace between the two powerful empires.
During the Middle Ages, the name Vanissa appeared in various European records, often associated with noble families or religious figures. One such example was Vanissa of Aquitaine, a 12th-century French noblewoman who was known for her patronage of the arts and literature.
In the 16th century, Vanissa was the name of a renowned Italian artist and painter who was celebrated for her exquisite portraiture and religious works. Her paintings can still be found in various churches and museums across Italy.
While the name Vanissa has undergone various transformations and adaptations throughout history, its essence and connection to nature, beauty, and spirituality have remained constant. Its rich cultural heritage and diverse historical references make it a name with a truly global reach and enduring appeal.
People
Vanissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanissa 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
Vanissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanissa 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 1,609,175 US residents.
Is Vanissa a common name?
We classify Vanissa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 239 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanissa was 1971, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanissa is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vanissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 281 people with the name Vanissa, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,797 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 Vanissa 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 Vanissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vanissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 290 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Vanissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vanissa is White at 32.0%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (23.8%). 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 Vanissa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vanissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.0% (90 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 Vanissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vanissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanissa 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 Vanissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vanissa 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 Vanissa 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 common is the name Vanissa?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Vanissa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.