Names That Start with A

As the first letter of the alphabet, A gives names an open vowel start, which tends to make them sound bright and easy to say. This page gathers girls' names, boys' names and names shared by both, and the mix runs from ancient to fairly new. Alexander comes from Greek and has been carried by kings and saints, Andrew was the name of one of the apostles, and Aaron and Abigail both appear in the Hebrew Bible. Adrian traces back to Latin, and Amelia has old Germanic roots.

A second group began as English surnames. Addison, Austin and Avery all started out as family names before parents picked them up as first names, and Aubrey, once a name for boys, is now mostly given to girls in the US. Alexis is another name used for both. Angel is common in Spanish-speaking families, often with the Spanish pronunciation, and Aiden is a version of an Irish name usually explained as little fire.

When you try these out, pay attention to your surname. A first name that ends in a vowel, such as Ava, can run straight into a last name that begins with one. Longer picks like Alexander and Anthony give you shorter forms to fall back on, while Ava and Avery stay much the same at every age.