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.
Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done which have never yet been tried." The episode was aired in the United States on 14 June 2014 on BBC America. It was watched by 613,000 viewers, with a Nielsen rating of 0.27 in the demographic of adults aged 18–49. Matt Brennan of "Slant Magazine" summarised the episode as being "among the best hours of television I've seen so far this year" and an example of "unrelenting brilliance". He praised the exploration of Rachel's character and especially Maslany's "nothing short of masterful" performance in the role, and described the satire of suburbia presented through Alison and Donnie as "impeccably wry".