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Girl
Vanessa
Butterfly (literary creation by Swift)
Origin
Greek
Used in
itenesdefr
Origin and meaning of Vanessa
Vanessa is a literary invention: the writer Jonathan Swift coined it in the early eighteenth century for his friend Esther Vanhomrigh, joining part of her surname to the pet form 'Essa.' Later a naturalist gave it to a genus of butterflies, hence the butterfly association. Popular throughout the twentieth century in Europe and the Americas, it endures for its modern, elegant sound. It evokes lightness, grace and freedom, with an international, faintly exotic charm.
Variants around the world
How Vanessa is said in other languages.
Vanesa
Famous people
- Vanessa Redgrave— actress
- Vanessa Bell— painter
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