Abstract
AbstractMost American baby name books claim that the origin of the name Vanessa is a Greek word meaning ‘butterfly,’ while British authorities claim that the name is the literary invention of Jonathan Swift. Evidence is presented showing that not only is the latter derivation the correct one, but also that the entomologist Johann Fabricius probably named a genus of butterfly Vanessa after the character in Swift's poem.
Highlights
Most American baby name books claim that the origin of the name Vanessa is a Greek word meaning 'butterfly,' while British authorities claim that the name is the literary invention of Jonathan Swift
It is in the generalist spirit that I, trained as a psychologist, offer this example of how literature, religious history, Classical and Modern Greek, and entomology were used to satisfy my curiosity about one common English first name - Vanessa
When I was hired to rewrite the book Unusual and Most Popular Baby Names in 1991, I had to check the etymological origins for accuracy
Summary
Most American baby name books claim that the origin of the name Vanessa is a Greek word meaning 'butterfly,' while British authorities claim that the name is the literary invention of Jonathan Swift. For Vanessa, the first edition of the book gave "Greek 'butterfly'· as the original meaning (Consumer Guide Editors 117). The original editors of Unusual and Most Popular Baby Names were not alone in their entomological interpretation of the name; out of another twenty-two first name books by North American authors published since 1941, sixteen gave "butterfly".
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