Lanessa

History & Origin

Lanessa is a coined name that joins the popular La- prefix to Nessa, itself a short form of Vanessa, invented by the writer Jonathan Swift, or of Agnes, from the Greek for pure. Prefixed coinages like Lanessa, Latanya and Lakeisha flowered within African American naming through the later twentieth century. Lanessa appears in United States birth records with a small high around the late two-thousands, showing lasting appeal.

It was never common, given to only a couple dozen girls a year at its peak, so its bearers range from mid-century to fairly recently. It reads as a graceful, rhythmic coinage that keeps a thread of the familiar Vanessa.