How Vanessa Became a Butterfly: A Psychologist's Adventure in Entomological Etymology

Abstract

Abstract 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. 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.