Names ending in a

American place and tribe name, derived via French from the Dakota word ayúxba "sleepy ones".

Amalisa is a smoosh of the prefix of Amabel and Amanda, which means lovable, and Lisa, a diminutive of Elizabeth that's long been used on its own. In some ways, it's an improvement on all of its root names -- fresher and more distinctive than Amanda or Lisa and easier to understand than Amabel, which is often confused with Annabel. Though Amalisa can be similarly confused with Annalisa which will inevitably become annoying.

The Spanish word for the peony flower would work as a girl's name as well.

Actor Jeremy Sisto put this word name on the map in 2009, when he used it as the middle name for his daughter Charlie.

A virtually unknown choice in the U.S. -- after 20 years of researching names, we've just heard of it ourselves -- but definitely attractive and usable for the baby namer who truly wants something different.

This name of a Canadian fashion brand is given to a handful of baby girls each year.

Indian name similar in feel to some of the increasingly popular Russian names.

Whether you take this as a female form of the mythical wanderer's name Odysseus or a spin on the place name Odessa makes a huge difference. But both names have that potential playground problem of the initial Od- syllable, as in odor.

A striking option among African girl names, reminiscent of the up-and-coming name Alaia.