Names ending in a

Ilisa is a spelling variant that's less appealing than the original.

Not likely to succeed here because of the "yanking" association.

Leeza may feel like the flagging Lisa or Liza, but its pronunciation is a hybrid of the two and it's a name that's distinct on its own.

Unique choice, with a pleasant antique feel.

Claudina — a traditional Spanish diminutive of Claudia — was a Top 500 name in Spain for the first half of the 20th century. It never caught on as a given name in the US. At its peak, Claudina was given to 17 American baby girls in 1969.

An uncommon short form of Patricia – an innovative way to honor Great-Aunt Pat.

An Italian word name that somehow feels incomplete in itself.

Italianate variation of Cosette, from Victor Hugo's Les Misérables.

This US state name has been rising slowly but steadily for girls over the last 30 years, but à la Dakota, it could easily be a male name too.

A pan-European variant of Bertha and nickname for -berta ending names, such as Alberta and Roberta. It's certainly much more appealing than its predecessor, but unlikely to become a hit in the US anytime soon.

Beyzs is both a girls' name, most popular around the turn of this century, and a place name of a city and county in Iran.

One of the more widely used combination forms.

A genus of birds in the flycatcher family, Elaenia is one of the many unique baby names in the Elena family. But that spelling is sure to trip up some people.

Used for both boys and girls in India, this appealing Hindi name works well internationally. It is also used as an epithet of the Hindu goddess Durga or Parvati).