Names ending in a

This Catalan and Spanish surname is derived from the Spanish word "rueda" from the Latin "rota," meaning "arched wood that forms a bow."

This name is the feminization of mythological name Lysander, which is best known to English-speakers as a character in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

A worthy update for Imani.

Azra is a perennial favorite Arabic name for girls in Turkey, Bosnia and Croatia. In the West, Azra could become a fresher take on Virginia or a more feminine spin on Ezra.

Possibly started life as a short form of Rhonwen, but most likely derives from the name of the Hebridean island Rona, which means "rough island".

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.

This lovely name is all but unknown outside Italy but fits perfectly in with the fashions for vowel-starting names that are elaborately feminine. Might make a distinctive alternative to Angelina or Arianna. Downside: People will inevitably mistake it for Adriana.

Even though the pronunciation of Ceara and the more usual Ciara is KEER-a, most Americans would tend to mispronounce this spelling variation as Sierra.

Inventive female form of Aloysius.

Julietta feels newly fresh and friendly thanks to the growing familiarity of Juliet and French sister Juliette.

An up-and-comer for girls, but still under-the-radar for boys. Alba feels like a possible crossover candidate, on the heels of Nova and Alva, and with the potential for rising nickname Albie.

If you have an aversion to Briella, you can shorten it even further to this.

Cleta was one of the Charities or Graces.

While only 8 baby girls were named Milia in the US in 2021, its rise seems inevitable along with the rise of Emilia and Mila and other similar names. Like Livia, Milia has the advantage of being different from the rest, but the disadvantage of maybe not being different enough (and being a word for tiny, harmless white spots on skin).

The Kiowa People are an Indigenous American tribe of the Great Plains. The exact derivation of their name has been lost, but most scholars agree it means "principal people." The Kiowa People have used different names for themselves over the years, including Kútjàu or Kwu-da, meaning "emerging" or "coming out rapidly," and Kom-pa-bianta, meaning "people with the large tipi flaps."

More stylish than either Paula or Pauline, it was given a glamour gloss by model Paulina Porizkova in the nineties.

In Roman mythology, Iana was an epithet of Diana, goddess of the moon.