Names ending in ia

A less known, but still as vowel-rich, version of the popular Aaliyah.

This yellow harbinger spring bloom was named for Scottish botanist William Forsyth, and is even more unusual than such species as Acacia and Azalea.

An underused Biblical name, probably because it's so tightly identified with the Queen of gospel singers, Mahalia Jackson. Other variations include Mahalah, Mahayla, Mahila, Mahilia, Mehalia, Mahali, and Mahalya.

This name of the goddess of peace creates a lovely ideal.

Though it has never charted in the United States, this frilly name has the elements some brave, modern namers might find attractive—namely, the initial O and the -ia suffix.

While this is an ancient male name, it's too similar to modern girls' choices like Mia and Pia to work for a boy today.

This fanciful Irish extension of Bridget is known here through the wacky Amelia Bedelia books for kids -- an association your child may or may not like.

The "Tz" beginning of Tzofia represents the Hebrew letter tzadi, which is pronounced more like ts. So Tzofia sounds like Sofia with a light t at the beginning — intriguing, but a difficult sound for a native English speaker to reproduce. While Tzofia is a distinct name from the megapopular Sophia and Sofia, many people will hear it as a cognate and pronounce it the same...or like Zofia.

Influential designer Miuccia (nicknamed Miu Miu) Prada's surname is much better known here than her first.

French spelling of Celia that is more popular in France today than traditional Célie.

Form of Ottilia

Rarely heard outside Italy, could make an interesting import.

The name of several early saints, including one, Pelagia the Penitent, a beautiful and licentious dancing girl who repented, then, disguised as a man, spent the rest of her life living alone in a cave on the Mount of Olives. Because of her early vocation, she is the patron saint of actresses.

Martia, more distinctive than cousins Marta, Marcia and Marsha, also has a strong image and slightly unexpected feel.

Another name for the herb sage -- which sounds younger and more modern than this version.

The origins of this rare name are shrouded in mystery. Ismeria is an obscure figure in European Christian legend, sometimes purported to be the great-aunt of Jesus Christ, who is connected to the devotion of the Black Madonna.

This variant of the more-difficult Afua, from the Akan language of what is now Ghana in West Africa, is a traditional "day name" that can make a perfectly pretty modern choice.

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza is popularizing this one.