Names ending in a

Croía is an unusual name with a loving meaning that jumped into the limelight when an Irish celebrity chose it for his daughter. Virtually unknown before, it's now among the most popular Irish girl names in Ireland.

Perfect name for a Virgo or an Aries baby. It is also the name of a character in the fantasy Belgariad series.

Elva is the anglicized version of Ailbhe, growing more popular in Ireland.

Anike is an attractive name with ties to several cultures, both African and Scandinavian. The African pronunciation emphasizes the second syllable while the Nordic one emphasizes the first. While there will be inevitable confusion over pronunciation, either form is "correct".

Beautiful Arabic name that's important in Islamic culture — Iqra is the name of a chapter in the Quran.

Alexa was a steadily popular modern classic until Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa was released in 2013. It remains relatively well used in the US despite this, though its standing keeps dropping for obvious reasons. Too bad, because it's a strong and pretty name (which is probably why Amazon used it.)

Portia is a perfect role-model name, relating to Shakespeare's brilliant and spirited lawyer in The Merchant of Venice, and is now also a Hunger Games name .

Somber, almost mournful name that still has a lovely sound.

Used primarily in Scotland, and represented here by singer Audra McDonald, the girls' name Audra has been overshadowed by the return of the classic Audrey. Audra may be to Audrey what Jenna is to Jennifer and Jessa is to Jessica: A variation that will rise as the original falls from favor, which may take another decade.

Delta is an unusual vintage option with a lazy-day-down-by-the-river feel. Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and also the geographical name given to an island formed at the mouth of a river.

Belinda, cousin of Linda and Melinda, enjoyed a brief return to the Top 1000 from 2005 through 2013, only to fall off again in 2014. A name that some may consider a modern spin on the midcentury popularity queen Linda is in fact a classic with deep and fascinating roots. In Babylonian mythology Belinda was the goddess of heaven and earth, and the name later was used for the heroine of Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Rape of the Lock.

Ancient martyr's name that, though not especially appealing, might still be mildly possible, especially for Anglophiles. It was widely used in early Scotland, but was overtaken by its nickname, Effie.

Brought into the American consciousness as the nickname of ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov, it more recently took on a unisex air via TV and screen actress Mischa Barton. Could become the next Sasha.

Languid, romantic, and classy, this variation heats up Caroline and modernizes Carol, adding a southern accent.

Related to Nia and Naia, Naya was new to the US Top 1000 in 2014 and benefits from the short and simple pronunciation that many parents are seeking in fresh names. It also has obvious similarities to popular Mia and Maya.

This Greek flower and mythological choice doesn't make it into the pantheon of possibilities because of its association with narcissism. But narcissa is December's flower of the month, so Narcissa and Daffodil theoretically make perfect names for December babies.

Nikita – a masculine Russian name deriving from the Greek name Niketas, meaning "victory" – has come a long way from portly post-Stalin Soviet leader Khrushchev to the female spy/assassin in the movie and TV series La Femme Nikita.

A sweet name with many cross-cultural ties: it's an equivalent of Jane in languages including Czech, Slovak, Dutch, German, Slovene, Catalan, Estonian, and Latvian.

This streamlined Italian and Spanish spelling of Louisa is currently very popular in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal, where it's usually spelt Luísa.