Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa (butterfly) Vanessa is a genus of brush-footed butterflies in the tribe Nymphalini. It has a near-global distribution and includes conspicuous species such as the red admirals (e.g., red admiral, Indian red admiral, New Zealand red admiral), the Kamehameha, and the painted ladies of subgenus "Cynthia": painted lady, American painted lady, West Coast lady, Australian painted lady, etc. For African admirals see genus, "Antanartia". Recently, several members traditionally considered to be in the genus "Antanartia" have been determined to belong within the genus "Vanessa". The name of the genus may have been taken from the character Vanessa in Jonathan Swift's
Vanessa (name) "Vanessa" was adopted as the name of a genus of butterfly by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1807. Vanessa was the 71st most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007. It has been among the top 200 names for girls in the United States since 1953 and among the top 100 names for girls since 1977. It first appeared among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States in 1950, when it appeared on the list ranked in 939th place. In Germany, Vanessa has been among the top 100 names for girls since 1976. The