Names ending in ia

Form of Ottilie or Odilia

An appealing name almost unknown in our culture but with roots in several others; worldlier than cousins Celia and Delia.

Hortensia is an ancient Roman name that's also the common name of the flower hydrangea. The French form of the name is Hortense, which is coming back into style in Paris but has never caught on in English-speaking countries. A secondary character in Roald Dahl's Matilda is named Hortensia.

Though we've gotten used to Hermione via Harry Potter, and even Hermes with its godlike and fashion associations, most people would still have a problem with Hermia (too close to hernia?) and Herman.

Kiaria is pretty but sure to prove confusing given all the more familiar Kiara and Keira variations out there.

Halia is one of Hawaii's top baby names, in the Top 50 for girls in 2021. But it's rare outside its native Hawaii, given to only 57 baby girls in the US last year.

Laetitia adds a layer of ancient patina to the more prosaic LETITIA.

The more familiar spelling Natalia currently sits much further up the list and has even made two brief appearances in the Top 100 during the last decade. Nathalia on the other hand has never been a particularly popular choice. The name has floated on and off the Top 1000 charts over the last 2 decades, favored especially by Hispanic and Latin American parents.

This is the Armenian version of the familia Julia, which has a rich and evocative sound. Other variations are Iuliya, and the diminitive Yulya.

Hesperia is the name of one of the Hesperides, known as the daughters of Hesperus or evening. Hesperus is the personification of the evening star in Greek mythology, better known as Venus in Roman mythology. Variations include Hesper and Hespera.

As an Arabic name, Rania is a variation of Raniya, ultimately derived from the Arabic word ranā meaning "to gaze" or "side look". Other descendants of this root include Ranya and Rana itself. Familiar in the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and France, Rania is currently borne by Rania Al Abdullah, Queen of Jordan.

This alluring Greek name has two possible meanings — possibly meaning "she who fulfills her obligations, or potentially deriving from the Greek anisos meaning "unequal".

This name of an admired Puerto Rican pop singer has been picked up by hundreds of Hispanic parents.

Venetia, the name of the region encompassing Venice, has a radiant, picturesque authenticity, as do the related Venezia and Venice.

Dania is a fun, offbeat name with international flair that would be a wonderful choice to honor a Danielle, Daniel, or a Dana. It is both an Italian diminutive of Daniela and a spelling variation of the Arabic Daniya.

Ellia is one of the newer entries in the extremely popular El group of names for girls, which includes Ella, Ellie, Elle and so on, as well as L-starting names such as Lillia. Nearly 100 baby girls were named Ellia last year, but we're afraid that the name will not sound as distinctive as it should due to so many other girls with similar names.

Joining Maia, Raya, and Kaia, is alluring, evocative Zaia.