Vennessa
Feminine diminutive of Venus, Roman goddess of love and beauty.
Name Census estimates that about 202 living Americans carry the first name Vennessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vennessa today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vennessa births was 1979 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vennessa. 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
202
~ 1 in 1,696,804 Americans
Peak year
1979
14 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2007 SSA rank
#20,401
Tracked since 1954
Census
Vennessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 312 people with the first name Vennessa, which placed it at #28,685 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
#28,685
National first-name rank
People counted
312
312 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
40.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vennessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vennessa is White at 40.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.8%) and Black (17.9%). 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 Vennessa 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 Vennessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White40.7% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino30.8% · 96
- Black or African American17.9% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 17
- Two or more races2.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 7
Popularity
Vennessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vennessa from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 97 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vennessa 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 Vennessa 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 Vennessa
The name Vennessa is a feminine given name that has its origins in the ancient Etruscan civilization, which flourished in what is now modern-day Italy between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC. It is believed to be derived from the Etruscan word "vene," which means "to come" or "to arrive."
In ancient Etruscan culture, names often carried symbolic meanings related to the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations held for them by their parents. The name Vennessa may have been bestowed upon newborn girls with the intention of signifying their arrival as a welcomed addition to the family or community.
While the name Vennessa does not appear to have been recorded in any major ancient texts or religious scriptures, it likely existed as a personal name among the Etruscan people during their time. The earliest documented use of the name can be traced back to the 5th century BC, when it was found inscribed on a funerary urn discovered in the ancient Etruscan city of Cerveteri.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Vennessa was Vennessa Tarchna, a noblewoman who lived in the Etruscan city of Veii during the 4th century BC. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her support of local artisans and craftspeople.
In the late 3rd century BC, Vennessa Velcha was a celebrated poet and philosopher from the Etruscan city of Chiusi. Her works, though largely lost to time, were said to have explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition.
During the Roman Republic era, Vennessa Caelia was a prominent figure in the city of Rome. She was a skilled orator and advocate for women's rights, and her speeches were widely admired for their eloquence and persuasiveness.
In the 2nd century AD, Vennessa Flavia was a renowned physician and herbalist from the Roman province of Etruria. She was credited with developing numerous remedies and treatments using locally sourced plants and herbs, and her knowledge was sought after by patients from across the Roman Empire.
The 6th century AD saw the rise of Vennessa Theodora, a Byzantine noblewoman and influential figure at the court of Emperor Justinian I. She was known for her intelligence, political acumen, and philanthropic endeavors, which included the founding of several monasteries and orphanages.
While the name Vennessa may have fallen out of common usage during certain periods of history, its Etruscan roots and the legacy of notable individuals who bore the name have ensured its enduring appeal and longevity as a feminine given name.
People
Vennessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vennessa 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
Vennessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vennessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 202 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vennessa 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 1,696,804 US residents.
Is Vennessa a common name?
We classify Vennessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vennessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Vennessa was 1979, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vennessa is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vennessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 312 people with the name Vennessa, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,685 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 Vennessa 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 Vennessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vennessa appears almost entirely female. Of the 321 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 Vennessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vennessa is White at 40.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.8%) and Black (17.9%). 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 Vennessa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vennessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.7% (127 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 Vennessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vennessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vennessa 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 Vennessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vennessa 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 Vennessa 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 people share the name Vennessa?
You can see how many people share the name Vennessa on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.