Names ending in a

Top 100 choice in Puerto Rico.

Spell it Rafaela (Spanish), Raffaella (Italian), Rafaela (German), or Raphaela (Hebrew), this is a euphonious and lovely name with a dark-eyed, long-flowing-haired image, which is, like Gabriella and Isabella, beginning to be drawn into the American mainstream.

Mikasa references Mount Mikasa, a mountain in Japan with three peaks, thought to look like bamboo hats. The Mikasa battleship was named after the mountain.

Delicate and gentle old-fashioned name, the kind found in early English poetry. While Corinna and the original Green Korinna are technically diminutives of the ancient Kore, now the popular Cora, this name will often be mistaken for other similar-sounding though unrelated names, such as Karenna. But it's pretty and is backed by more tradition than you'd guess.

A prominent character name from the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, derived from an Arabic word meaning "(water) droplet" ⁠— Katara belongs to a water tribe.

This simplified form of the lovely name Georgia was spotlighted by the actress Jorja Fox, and seems to be making inroads; rocker Bret Michaels chose it for his daughter. Still, we'd opt for the traditional spelling.

Ever since the enormous German cannon was dubbed by Allied soldiers "Big Bertha" in World War I, this name hasn't worked for a sweet little baby girl. But this was not always so. Hard as it might be to imagine now, Bertha was a Top 100 name until the 1930s, and in the 1880s was the seventh most popular name in the land--the equal of Joseph.

Illyria can trace all its varied associations to the name of an ancient place in the western part of the Balkan peninsula, also called Illyricum. Its inhabitants, conquered by the Romans in 168 BC, were called the Illyrians. Its mythological ancestor was Illyrius, a demigod and son of King Cadmus and the goddess Harmonia.

This traditional Germanic name hasn't been on the U.S. list since 1958, but perhaps due to the mythic power of painter Frida Kahlo, parents are beginning to show some interest in it.

Nikola is generally masculine in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Macedonia, while in Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia and the Czech Republic it is usually feminine.

This distinctive spelling was popularized by the R&B singer Mya (Harrison) and has inspired many baby namers to adopt Mya for themselves.

The current wife of Donald Trump, Slovenian model Melania Knauss, brought this pretty version to the fore. Saint Melania was an heiress who freed thousands of enslaved people.

Though still being used, Deanna peaked many decades ago.

A fairly common Greek name that would fit in well here.

Since so many of the biblical prophet names -- Daniel, Jonah, Nathan, Samuel -- are overused, you might want to consider this distinctive alternative. Hosea was the author of the book of prophesies bearing his name, whose underlying message was a promise of restoration. The Talmud claims that he was the greatest prophet of his generation.

Sharper and steelier than Martha, but with the same underused vintage appeal.

Audrina is a name that owes its fame to overnight reality TV sensation Audrina Partridge, one of the original cast of the MTV reality series The Hills.

If you're a lover of the beach and sea, and want a name that relates to the largest body of water, there are several variations you could consider.

Used across Europe, South America, and the US, Daniela is a popular feminine form of the Hebrew name Daniel. It has ranked in the US Top 300 since the early 90s and it's currently on trend in Spain, Portugal, Chile, Mexico, and Lativia.