VANESSA
Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: va-NES-sa

"The name Vanessa was invented by Irish writer Jonathan Swift for Esther Vanhomrigh, whom Swift had met in 1708 and whom he tutored. The name was created by taking "Van" from Vanhomrigh's last name and adding "Essa", the nickname of Esther. In 1726 the name Vanessa appeared in print for the first time in Cadenus and Vanessa."  

"Vanessa has been adopted later as the name of a genus of butterfly. Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies. The name may be a variant of "Phanessa", from an Ancient Greek word for a mystic divinity..."

(sited from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa)