Names ending in a

Anahita is the name of the water goddess who rules, among other things, fertility and wisdom. Associated with Venue, Anahita is a stylish Iranian name for girls.

If your ancestry is Italian, you may want to consider this elegant twist on a classic.

Alida had a brief flurry of popularity a hundred years ago but is rarely used today. But given the rise of so many names related to Adelaide and Adeline, Alida might be rediscovered.

Niya is an alternative name for Lilith, a demon or goddess in mythology. Niya is still worshipped today in a cult located in parts of Eastern Europe.

A goddess of childbirth in Latvian mythology. She is known to be the patroness of all feminine duties as well as economic activity, like money and markets.

Marcia is the most common version of this group of names in the U. S., now found more often among moms and grandmas than babies. Marsha was a Top 100 name in the 1950s, when Marcy was its common go-by name.

An Indian name used to describe some of the tenets of Buddhism, such as the Four Noble Truths (catvary arya satyani) or The Noble Eightfold Path (arya marga). It can also simply be a spelling variation of Aria, making it a cultural crossover name with both style and substance.

While Augusta is the more traditional feminine form of the name, tacking on the -ina ending makes Augustina more feminine and contemporary sounding.

Alexandrina is the most elaborate and unusual of the Alex- girls's names.The real first name of Queen Victoria, who was given it in honor of her godfather, Alexander I of Russia (her childhood nickname was Drina), it would make a distinctive pick, even though some might find five syllables a bit much. It was particularly popular in Scotland in the 1930s.

The rarer long form of Priscilla, which comes from the Roman name Priscus, meaning "ancient".

Striking and accessible choice.

Delphina is another form of the sleek French Delphine, rising in popularity. The Blessed Delphina was a Provencal nun.

Ala is the Igbo earth goddess whose symbol is the crescent moon. In a very different vein, Ala can be a diminutive for Alicja or Alexandra or really any other name with an A at both ends and an L in the middle. Ala is also an Arabic name meaning "excellence, supremacy"; could be confused as a homonym for Allah, or as part of a phrase like a la mode.

Azucena is the Spanish name for the Madonna lily, or white lily, derived from the Arabic words ‘abyad, "white", and zanbaq, "lily". White lilies are symbols of the Virgin Mary, which gives the flower its alternate name, Madonna lily.

Inessa is a truly multi-cultural name, heard in Spain, Germany and Russia, and is related to the names Agnes and Ines/Inez.

The lovely Shakespearean Juliet is finding renewed interest as a baby name today, and Julieta is along for the ride, especially among Spanish families.

Aza is an excellent Arabic choice: elegant and simple. Too simple for you? Consider Aziza.

Too tightly tied to the acronym for the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

This variant of Gianna has been in the US Top 1000 for most of the 21st century and hit a peak in 2010 at Number 568. The original spelling outranks the trimmed down version by far.