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Nessa

“Variant of Vanessa — Coined name, possibly meaning from the star” — English literary coinage origin

Girl's name · #2719 in the US (2025) · Trending

Nessa has appeared in US records since 1935 — best rank #2287 (2016) · 1,368 babies named Nessa all-time · 1 in 25,000 girls born in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 1,200 girls in Ireland (2025) · about 1 in 2,400 girls in N. Ireland (2025) · about 1 in 9,200 girls in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 3 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Nessas

• Nessa Barrett — American singer
• Nessa Childers — Irish politician
• Nessa Carey — British molecular biologist
• Nessa Cohen — American sculptor (1884-1976)
• Nessa Ní Shéaghdha — Irish Celtic Studies scholar

In stories & tradition

• Nessa — The Silmarillion

What Nessas become

Among 22 notable people named Nessa:

Entertainers appear 2.93× more often than among typical names — e.g. Nessa Barrett, American singer.

Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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