Double exposure: 1970s rock sensation (Mamma Mia) and scholar/diplomat name in Israel. 

Abba

This Muslim name derived from the Arabic is found in North and East Africa.

Abdalla

Abdulla

Abia

Abisha

Abrasha

Aditi's seven children, Hindu Gods, are named Aditya.

Aditya

Adria

Retro musical reference to classic Steely Dan rock album, but mostly for girls today. 

Akeeva

Akiba

Akira is a popular Japanese name for both sexes that's migrated to the West because of its appearance in manga and video games.  Akiro is a related name popular for boys.

Akira

Akiva has a distinguished scholarly pedigree and a lovely meaning. Its softer sound is very on trend for masculine names at the moment and is in line with more familiar monikers like Ezra, Elijah and Theo.

Akiva

ALJOŠA

Edison's middle name is a fabulous option for parents looking for something with history and a soft sound. This could be the name you're looking for if you like Tesla's scientific pedigree but think that it has become too corporate with the advent of Elon Musk's company.

Alva

Amasa is a rare Biblical name borne by two figures. One is the son of Abigail and nephew of King David, who named him commander of the rebels. This Amasa met a tragic end when he was murdered by Joab. 

The other Biblical Amasa was one of the Children of Ephraim.

Amasa

Actress America Ferrera, of Ugly Betty fame, has pretty much feminized this name in the US.

America

Amerika

Andrea may be a gender neutral name in its native Italy and other European countries, but in the US it's 98 percent a girls' name, with only about 20 males to more than 1800 baby girl given that name in the most recent year counted.

Andrea

Aquilla

Ara is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">unique boys' name</a> that one of the most melodious in the Armenian name pool, familiarized by Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian. In Armenian mythology, Ara was a king so handsome that a rival queen went to war in order to make him her own. The name Ara is also known in the Arabic and Hebrew cultures.

Arba

Arra

This colorful Sanskrit name belongs to the Hindu god Aruna, the charioteer who drives the sun god Surya across the sky. Aruna can also be masculinized to Arun.

It can also be a female name in Japanese.

Aruna

A venerable boys' name in Persian and South Asian cultures that is increasingly used for girls in most parts of the world, thanks largely to the popularity of Game of Thrones character Arya Stark. In the U.S., for instance, there were 1890 newborn girls named Arya in 2016 and just 54 boys in 2016. The related Aryan remains mostly male, however, so it would likely be a better choice for a little boy, if you don't mind the other meaning.

Arya

A short but strong biblical name with multicultural appeal, Asa is enjoying new visibility thanks to hot young actor Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame. 
 Asa was the name of an important biblical king of Judah, who reigned for more than forty years. In modern times, the name was long associated with the strong patriarch Asa Buchanan on the soap opera "One Life to Live," but since the character "died" in 2007, this gives the name plenty of room to rejuvenate. Popular with the Puritans, Asa can be found in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper and Theodore Dreiser. 
 A notable real-life namesake is the highly influential botanist Asa Gray, and Asa was the birth name of Al Jolson. Radiohead's Colin Greenwood has a son named Asa. 
 Asa could also be a path to the hip nickname Ace or an alternative to the rapidly rising Asher.

English speaking countries may only associate this with the fifth-century Hun, but the name is still well-used in contemporary Hungary, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
 
Usually said to derive from the Gothic word atta meaning "father", other sources suggest Attila might also have Turkic etymology. Theories include that it comes from the Turkic elements as and til meaning "the oceanic ruler"; that it derives from the word atli meaning "cavalry" or " horseman"; or, that it is borrowed from an old name for the Volga River in Russia, once known as Atil or Itil.
 
Other name sakes include tennis player Attila Balázs, ice dancer Attila Elek, and the metal band Attila.

Attila

Aza's similarity to the biblical name Asa makes it ripe for adaptation. If you want something more elaborate, you might consider Azariah. Something simpler?  It doesn't get much simpler and that is the beauty of Aza (or Asa).

Azaia

Azria

Abdolla 

Abessa 

Abimbola 

Aca 

Adalia 

Adalya 

Adebola 

Adina

Adisa 

Africa 

Agrippa 

Aindrea 

Ala 

Alpha 

Alyosha 

Aminta 

Ananta 

Anantha 

Anapa

Andria 

Andrija 

Aniruddha 

Aquila 

Arata 

Arda 

Arizona 

Arjuna 

Ashoka 

Atiya

Aviya 

Balta

Barbossa (also spelled Barbosa) is derived from the Barbosa palm. It is also a common place name, with towns called Barbossa spread across Latin America. Film buffs might also recall that Barbossa is the name of the captain of the Black Pearl in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean". 

Barbossa

Barna

Barnaba

Battista

Benja

Wildly optimistic -- and unrealistic -- choice. 

Bonanza

Bonaventura

BOŽA

One place-name that's far off the beaten track, and better for girls, despite the connection with the dated Irma. 

Burma

Bagadata 

Baha 

Bala

Baladeva 

Baptista 

Barra 

Batista 

Bautista 

Beocca

Bharata 

Bhima 

Bidzina 

Bima 

Bora 

Borna 

Borya 

Brahma 

Brijesha 

Buana 

Buenaventura 

BÉLA 

California

Chelsea for a boy?  Yes--and we've got two maleberry Chelseas to prove it (one of whom even wrote a blog for us about his experience)!  Boy Chelseas would more likely be named for the British football team than the old Joni Mitchell song sung by Judy Collins.

Chelsea

In The Hunger Games series, Cinna is the influential costume designer for Katniss. In ancient Rome, one Cinna was the father-in-law of Julius Caesar and another was a conspirator against Caesar.

Cinna

While the original Irish St. Columba was male, the modern Irish variation Colm or Scottish Callum would be more appropriate for a contemporary boy. We can, however, imagine Columba as a rhythmic and contemporary-sounding girl's name.

Columba

COSTICĂ

Soul singer Cuba Gooding and his actor son of the same name put this unexpected geographical name on the map for boys, but it has a longer history of use than you might expect. Deriving from the island in the Caribbean Sea, it had a brief spell of popularity in the US at the end of the 1890s when Spain lost possession of the island during the Spanish-American War. Used predominantly (though rarely) on girls throughout the last century, it has occasionally be given to a handful of boys too.
 
The exact meaning and origins of the place name are unknown, though it is conjectured that it comes from the extinct Taíno language and could mean "where the fertile land is abundant" or "great place". Alternatively, it could derive from the Palace of Cuba in Italy, whose name might literally come from the word cubical or from the Arabic Qubba meaning "dome" — in reference to the shape of the building. There is also a Roman Goddess of the name, who helped to carry children from cradle to bed. 
 
Cuba Gooding Sr. was named in honor of his father's first wife, who Dudley Gooding had met and married after fleeing to the island in the 1930s. His wife was later murdered due to her connections to a Pan Africanist leader, and Dudley promised her he would name his first son Cuba, which he kept good on. Cuba Sr. carried on the tradition when he also gave the name to his son. 
 
More recently, social media influencers and YouTube couple, Jess and Gabriel Conte, named their son Cuba Malachi in 2024. The name has raised some eyebrows among their followers for its unusualness — and perhaps because some might think of the fraught history the island has with the US. Nevertheless, it is almost reminiscent of the likes of Luca, Cooper, and Koda so time will tell if other parents begin to consider the name of any gender.

Cuba

Cahaya 

Vana's list "Boys' Names Ending in -a Part 1" of 368 great name ideas: Aba - ÉNNA!

Boys' Names Ending in -a Part 1

Names ending in -a  are popular for girls, but there are loads of names ending in -a that are used for boys too.