Vanessa
Vanessa is a female given name: 99% of people named Vanessa are women, and it is recorded as female in 14 of the 14 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 1% male / 99% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Belgium, France
- US births since 1880
- 983 male / 252,538 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Vanessa
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Vanessa," in English, "Guten Tag Vanessa," in German. Vanessa is a female given name: about 99% of people named Vanessa are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Vanessa,
German
Guten Tag Vanessa,
French
Bonjour Vanessa,
Spanish
Estimado/a Vanessa:
Chinese
Vanessa您好：
Japanese
Vanessa様
English
Hi Vanessa,
German
Hi Vanessa,
French
Salut Vanessa,
Spanish
Hola Vanessa,
Chinese
Vanessa你好：
Japanese
Vanessaさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 0% |
| Belgium | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| France | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Malta | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Switzerland | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Germany | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| East Frisia | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Great Britain | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Ireland | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Austria | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Netherlands | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Spain | rare | woman's name | 2% |
Show all 14 countries
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Greece | rare | woman's name | 2% |
United States birth data
983 male · 252,538 female · 253,521 births recorded
Since 1980: 0% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vanessa a male or female name?
Vanessa is a female given name: 99% of people named Vanessa are women, and it is recorded as female in 14 of the 14 countries covered.
How do I address Vanessa in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Vanessa," in English, "Guten Tag Vanessa," in German. Vanessa is a female given name: about 99% of people named Vanessa are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Vanessa a unisex name?
Vanessa is not a unisex name: 1% of people named Vanessa are men. Vanessa leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Vanessa a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/vanessa (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_vanessa,
title = {Is Vanessa a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/vanessa},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}