Why do so many names sound nicer with an a at the end

[swanandduck]

Such as:

Louise
Suzanne
Helen
Dorothy
Ann

Perhaps they sound more feminine?
I would also add Olive/Olivia to your list.

I'm Suzanne and wished I had been called Susannah. My maiden name ended with an 'a' too though, so it sounded shit. Never mind.

I actually prefer all the names you listed without an a at the end.

But then, I'm not so keen on really girly names.

I disagree I think that 'a' names are very much in vogue at the moment and will have their time in the limelight and fade. I think their time is almost up anyway, people are tiring of them (apart from the classic 'a' ending names which will always be fairly popular).

I would consider Louisa and Anna to be pretty classic, as opposed to very 'now'.

I think the current trend reflects the more multicultural society - so many farflung / orginating relatives that need to be able pronounce them. French, Germanic and trad English are that bit more difficult.

In answer to your thread title: They don't. DH insisted we were not going to go for names that end in an a, and he was right. They are boring. Sorry.

think I prefer all your listed names without an a on the end tbh

julie / julia.

So all names ending in 'a' are boring, Schulte?

That'll be about half of all girls' names then. Talk about a sweeping statement!

I agree. Strange statement. Bit like saying all names beginning with a J are boring.

Look. What I mean is that almost every little girl I know has a name ending in a. Every time one of my friends has a baby girl and they announce the name, it's one ending in an a. Yawn. I was very pleased when my colleague had an Imogen last week!

I think they do to us at the moment but there'll be a shift, and those names will start to sound too long and too girly to parents in 10 years time.

eg, Julia is the more fashionable version of Julie right now, but tbh, even though it's a bit dated, I think I prefer the sound of Julie.

You forgot Erika

I prefer Olive to Olivia too.

Actually, although unfashionable right now, I also prefer Julie to Julia, Clare to Clara, Sophie to Sophia, Louise to Louisa. But then I prefer Anna to Anne, Lucia to Lucia. It all depends on the name and you can't really generalise.

DD has first and middle names both ending in 'a' but there aren't really 'non-a' alternatives to her names available anyway.

I meant prefer Lucia to Lucy

Olive just makes me think of a small green thing in a jar. Or Popeye's girlfriend. A completely different feel from Olivia, which is lovely.

imho cecile nicer tham cecilia
and prefer annabel or arabelle to annabella arabella
sometimes i feel a ending names sound quite harsh

I agree that in the names you have given - they do sound so much better than the names without the 'a' ending. They are nice, feminine sounding names.

Unfortunately, though I also agree with the previous poster that there definitely seems to have been a very recent trend for names that end in 'a' and I would add 'ie/y' so names like Sophie / Sophia etc seem to be everywhere at the mo, over half the girls in my DDs class have a name that either ends in 'ie/y' or the 'a' sound.

Well firstly I don't agree with you. Some names with an a at the end are nice and some aren't, just as with many other names.

Of the names you list I don't think there is much to choose between some of them (Louisa/Louise sound very similar to me) some of them are lovely both with an "a" or without (Helen/Helena and Ann/Anna, although I prefer the look of Anne to Ann) I like Susannah much more than Suzanne, and Dorothy more than Dorothea.

I don't think that the "a" makes them sound girly or feminine ("ie" is a much softer sound than "a"). They are all strong names IMO, and if you like them, then pick one.

Names do go in and out of fashion, there is a strong cyclical trend and people are influenced by all many things, from favourite grannies (the general cyclical pattern) to film stars, to avoiding the names of people you went to school with. Sometimes knowingly and sometimes less so.

Some "a"s are about turning a boys name into a girls name, but plenty aren't, and there are quite a few female diminutives: -etta/-ette, -ina/-ine, -ella/-illa as well as -a. I think that the "a" variant endings are Latinate and the "e" French.

I've always liked names ending in 'a' for a girl and 'o' for a boy!

Anna
Marina
Octavia
Helena

Otto
Theo
Apollo
Leo

etc....

I think it definitely depends on the name. I generally like the 'a' sound, but in some names that's irrelevant becasue I don't like another sound in the name e.g Julia. I don't like 'ju'. I like 'ja' as in Jasmine but I hate 'ju'!
Some 'a' names are gorgeous and classic such as Alexandra. I also love Rosa, Natasha, Annika and Anna.
I think that Olivia and Louisa are so much nicer than Olive and Louise.
But I wouldn't not choose a name because it was popular if I loved it.
I like many names without 'a' on the end e.g. Lily, Natalie, Genevieve, Xanthe, Persephone... Hang on a second
those names all have strong 'ee' sounds in them!! I never realised till right this second how much I like 'ee' and 'a' sounds!!
I will come back when i've thought of names I like without these sounds in