Names ending in a

Occasionally heard in Ireland, small chance of success here.

Mala is one of those names that's both simple and striking, easy to pronounce yet unfamiliar to many English speakers.

Amabella is an elaboration of Amabel, a popular medieval name. Neil Gaiman and Liane Moriarty used Amabella as a character name in their novels, The Graveyard Book and Big Little Lies, respectively.

You say Bryn, he says Bryana -- here's a name you might agree on.

In addition to being the appellation of an ancient grain goddess, this name was also borne by two mythic Irish figures, one of whom was betrothed to legendary chieftain Finn MacCool, the other the brave sixteenth century pirate Grainne Ni Mhaille— known in English as Grace O'Malley-- whose name passed into poetry as a symbol of Ireland.

The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Most Ghanaians have a name using this system (think Kofi Annan, whose name means born on a Friday). Efia (also Afua) is the name for girls born on a Friday. (The male variant is Kofi)

An alternative international spelling of Julia.

Resonant and unusual.

Variant form of Olena. George R. R. Martin used this spelling for a character in his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series.

Hilaria, the ancient Roman form of Hilary also given to joyous festivals, is still used in Spain and Poland, while the intriguing Italian version is Ilaria. A notable current bearer is fitness expert and wife of Alec, Hilaria Baldwin, who was born Hillary.

Feminine of Aidan, but now girls would prefer to use the original.

This beautiful Hindi name made the US Top 1000 in 2016, and 2017, and has now re-entered again in 2022. Aadhya is one of the many names for the Goddess Durga in Hinduism.

One name that encompasses several big baby name trends: Hawaiian names, word names and space-related names. Mahina ranks among Hawaii's top baby names for girls.

This and two other female forms -- AQUILA and AQUILINA -- of the Roman family name Aquilius might live on in modern times.

Adessa may be a Scandinavian variation of the place name Odessa.

Game of Thrones fans may recognize this as the name of the wily Wildling who helped protect Bran Stark for several seasons of the HBO show. George R.R. Martin has cited Harry Potter vet Natalia Tena's performance in the part as the one that most changed his understanding of a character he created.

In Greek Mythology, Eucleia was the spirit of glory and good repute. She was a member of the younger Charites.

Named for its snowcapped mountains, Nevada is a state name which, unlike Carolina, Montana, and Dakota, has been relatively undiscovered. Warning: today's unvisited place-name could become tomorrow's trampled tourist attraction.

A multicultural choice, Aleyna entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2023. It is also a familiar name in Turkey, and notably in France where it's on the rise.