Vanessa (name) Vanessa (name) Vanessa is a feminine given name, especially popular in the United States, Germany and Brazil. It was invented by the Anglo-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", a pet form of Esther. In 1726 the name Vanessa appeared in print for the first time in "Cadenus and Vanessa", an autobiographical poem about Swift's relationship with Vanhomrigh. Swift had written the poem in 1713, but it was not published until three years after Vanhomrigh died.
Where Have You Been The performance was in "Cleopatra" style. The singer performed the song on "American Idol"'s season 11 finale on May 23, 2012. Rihanna performed "Where Have You Been" at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on June 24, 2012, as the tenth song on the set list. The performance featured a giant sphinx on the stage. She also performed the song at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Talk That Talk", Def Jam Recordings, SRP Records. Where Have You Been "Where Have You Been" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album,