Boy Names Ending in A
Boy names ending in A include one of the most popular names of the past generation, Joshua. And while longtime Number 1 boys' name Noah may not technically end in A, it does carry the A sound at the end.
Along with Joshua, boy names ending with the letter A in the US Top 1000 include Luca, Dakota, Ezra, Ira, Asa, and Koa.
Extending the concept, along with Noah, boy names ending in the A sound include Elijah, Josiah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.
While A used to be seen as too soft an ending for boys' names, today it's as acceptable as gender-neutral names or girl names borrowed from the boys.
Browse our entire roster of A-ending boys' names here. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
Along with Joshua, boy names ending with the letter A in the US Top 1000 include Luca, Dakota, Ezra, Ira, Asa, and Koa.
Extending the concept, along with Noah, boy names ending in the A sound include Elijah, Josiah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah.
While A used to be seen as too soft an ending for boys' names, today it's as acceptable as gender-neutral names or girl names borrowed from the boys.
Browse our entire roster of A-ending boys' names here. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
Ezra
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"help"Description:
Ezra is potentially an abbreviation for the Hebrew phrase Azaryahu, meaning “Yah helps.” In the Bible, Ezra led a group of fifteen hundred Israelites out of slavery in Babylon and back to Jerusalem. The Latin name Esdras derives from Ezra.
Joshua
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"the Lord is my salvation"Description:
Joshua was derived from the Hebrew name Yehoshu’a, from the roots yeho, referring to God, and yasha’, meaning “to save.” Joshua shares origins with the name Jesus, which comes from the Aramaic variation Yeshu’a. An important figure in the Old Testament, Joshua was the successor to Moses who finally led the Israelites into the Promised Land, inspiring the hymn "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho."
Luca
Origin:
Italian variation of Luke and LucasMeaning:
"man from Lucania"Description:
If there was once a bias against this charming and venerable Italian name for possibly sounding too feminine, consider it gone. Since Luca entered the boys’ names U.S. popularity list in 2000, it has shot up in popularity. It's a popular choice throughout Europe as well.
Luka
Origin:
Spelling variation of LucaDescription:
Not quite as popular as cousin Luca, but both have been rising in recent years.
Dakota
Origin:
Place-name; SiouxMeaning:
"friendly one"Description:
An early and still one of the most popular unisex names, also a place name and name of a Native American people in the northern Mississippi valley, which makes it a controversial baby name choice. While the popularity of Dakota is trending downward for both genders, it's one of those rare genuinely gender-neutral names that is used for nearly equal numbers of boys and girls.
Lucca
Origin:
Spelling variation of LucaDescription:
Lucca first entered the US Top 1000 in 2012 and has been trending upwards.
Asa
Origin:
Hebrew; JapaneseMeaning:
"healer; born in the morning"Description:
A short but strong biblical name with multicultural appeal, Asa is enjoying new visibility thanks to hot young actor Asa Butterfield of Hugo fame.
Santana
Origin:
Spanish, condensed form of Santa AnaDescription:
Santana was most recently heard on a female character on hit television show Glee. Nonetheless, this name ranks higher for boys, which can be credited to Grammy Award-winning musician Carlos Santana.
Koa
Origin:
HawaiianMeaning:
"warrior"Description:
With Noah taking the Number 1 spot in 2013, Koa is attracting more attention than ever.
Koda
Origin:
Japanese, SiouxMeaning:
"friend"Description:
A word in the Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee dialects of the Lakota Sioux language, meaning "friend" or "ally", used for one of the main characters in the movie Brother Bear. Also a common Japanese surname or a respelling of the musical name Coda.
Hamza
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"lion or strong"Description:
Hamza was the legendary uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, hero of The Hamzanama, the Story of Hamza.
Musa
Origin:
Arabic, Turkish, and Persian form of MosesDescription:
Moses has always been a widely used name in the US, and this international version debuted in the Top 1000 in 2015. Its concise two-syllable sound could help it continue climbing.
Nova
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"new"Description:
Nova might be a much more commonly used a girls' name, but enough parents saw unisex appeal in it for it to debut on the US Top 1000 for boys in 2017. Nova is an astronomical term for a star that suddenly increases in brightness, then fades.
Ira
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"watchful one"Description:
Ira is one of the shortest, non-biblical sounding Old Testament names, belonging to one of King David's thirty 'mighty warriors.' It was widely used in the US from the 1880s to the early 1930s (it was Number 57 on the Social Security list in 1881), but fell off completely in 1993. Although Ira is also a retirement-account acronym, it's back on the table for those seeking a short biblical name for their sons, and reentered the US Top 1000 in 2016. A musical namesake is lyricist Ira Gershwin (born Israel), a literary one is Ira Levin, and there are two prominent Iras hosting NPR radio shows..
Elisha
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"God is my salvation"Description:
Creative name whose only limitation is that it looks like it would be pronounced akin to Alicia and Elissa — although as a Biblical boys’ name, it is traditionally pronounced ee-LIE-shah.
Yehuda
Origin:
Variation of YehudahDescription:
This modernized version of Yehudah could be assimilated further by making it Judah. The name is traditionally given to boys born at Chanukah. It first appeared on the US Top 1000 in 2001.