Names ending in a

Afro-Asian model, designer, and entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons brought this name into the public eye and it enjoyed more than a decade in the Top 1000 during the 2000s and early 2010s. It peaked in 2008 when it reached the Top 300, but it has since been in decline, becoming an on-off visitor to the US charts.

The exact meaning of Kimora is unknown, though one possibility is that it's a nod the Japanese surname, Kimura, meaning "woods + village". Back in the US Top 1000 for 2023, Kimora could also feel like an updated form of Kim or Maura, and a spin on more popular Kora.

This contracted form of Isadora makes for a more concise name that might catch the attention of modern parents.

Perhaps to honor an ancestral Abraham, but presents a confusing image.

Straightforward yet intriguing, a winning combination.

Rayla might be many things: a modern successor to Kayla; an elaboration of Rae; a blend of Riley and Taylor or Rae and Ayla; a possible substitute for for Raelynn; an alternative to Layla; a two-for-one honor, for a Ray and a Laura, a Rachel and a Kayla. What is definitely is though, is a name on the rise — given to nearly 130 babies in 2023, it is five times more popular than it was a decade earlier.

Ezana of Aksum was the ruler of an ancient kingdom that is now in Eritrea and Ethiopia. He was the first monarch of Aksum to convert to Christianity and is a saint in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

A bold and evocative African place name. The country of Kenya gets its name from Mount Kenya, referred to it as "Kirinyaga" or "Kerenyaga" by the local Kikuyu people, meaning "mountain of whiteness" due to its snow-capped peak.

The Manaia is a mythological creature in Māori culture, a common motif in Māori art. Usually depicted as having the head of a bird, the tail of a fish and the body of a man, the Manaia is traditionally believed to be the messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domain of the spirits, and its symbol is used as a guardian against evil.

Daya, popularized in the US as the name of a character on Orange Is The New Black, the variation Daia has recently been chosen as a name by Dutch rapper Willie Wartaal for his daughter, born in March 2016.

Female form of Neal, now more popular in Ireland than its male counterpart.

A delicate name with strong roots, Aniceta is most often used in contemporary Spain. Saint Anicetus was an ancient pope and martyr.

A sunny sounding name, Mayella is a smoosh name with various meanings, depending on which etymological root you follow for May. The name is perhaps most associated with Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a character whose loneliness and desperation spark the main plot of the book. This may well put parents off using the name and it is only ever given to a handful of girls every year.

Polexia Aphrodesia was the futuristic sounding name of the Anna Paquin character in the movie "Almost Famous."

One of the many names for the Virgin Mary, this name is popular in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

Name bestowed upon Choctaw men.