My husband and I are having a really hard time coming up with a boy name for our son due to arrive at the end of the summer! I [name_f]ADORE[/name_f] the name [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] but with an A at the end I’m worried it will be picked up by girls and soon become a unisex if not full-on feminine name! I also really love the names [name_u]Asa[/name_u] (also please let me know your first impression of the pronounciation of [name_u]Asa[/name_u]) and [name_u]Seneca[/name_u]. I would’ve used [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] for a girl in a heartbeat, but for a boy? It is the name of an ancient [name_m]Roman[/name_m] philospher so it has male precedent… And [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_u]Asa[/name_u] are male biblical names… what do you think?
I think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_u]Asa[/name_u] will stay boys names, for sure. And even if they become unisex names (hopefully not), they’re still boys names and people shying away from using them because of “mights” won’t do the names any good.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u] I’ve never heard before and just by looking at it, I would’ve assumed it was a girls name, HOWEVER, due to [name_u]Asa[/name_u] and [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] being biblical names, I think they’re pretty safe.
I’d say it’s unlikely that [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] or [name_u]Asa[/name_u] will get so much use as a girls’ name that it would be unusable for boys. They’re both well-known biblical male names, and trends are looking in your favour with the rise of [name_u]Luca[/name_u], [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_u]Noah[/name_u] etc. [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] is obviously far less common either for boys or girls, and it’s had usage for both, but its history and rareness make it absolutely usable for a boy. Also, I agree with @opheliaflora that people avoiding masculine names altogether out of a fear that they could conceivably be used for girls too only increases the likelihood of the names ‘going to the girls’.
As for [name_u]Asa[/name_u], I pronounce it with a long A sound: AY-sə. Gorgeous name, and [name_m]Ace[/name_m] could make a cute nn 
I also adore [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]. [name_u]Asa[/name_u] is very nice as well. They are masculine to me. I think they have too much history to ever fully go to the girls.
When I first encountered the name [name_u]Asa[/name_u], I thought it was [name_m]AH[/name_m]-suh. I tend to default to soft vowels. but since I learned of the AY-suh pronunciation, that’s the only way I’ve heard/said/thought of it.
I agree with opheliaflora too. The more people worry about traditional boys names going to the girls and so avoid using them the much higher chance this will happen anyway as a self fulfilling prophecy. Also, no one really knows what names will trend in which direction moving forward. Who could have predicted Ellliot or [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] or [name_u]Quinn[/name_u]. Did [name_u]Riley[/name_u] trend girl because of the -ey ending? [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_u]Asa[/name_u] have very strong masculine roots and I don’t think trending to girls should be a reason for not using them.
Of course, boy names that end in an a sound are always going to be ripe for stealing to the girls.
But I think if they’ve been classically used for boys (not just modern invented names) that you’ll be okay. Anybody with basic schooling should recognize names like [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] as male names. They might be used for girls as well, but I don’t think they’ll be common enough to cause a problem.
I really like these boys names ending in A:
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]
[name_m]Joshua[/name_m]
[name_m]Elijah[/name_m]
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Judah[/name_m]
[name_u]Noah[/name_u]
[name_m]Jonah[/name_m]
[name_u]Micah[/name_u]
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is all boy so it should never be a problem
I had a classmate named [name_u]Seneca[/name_u]. He’s the only person I’ve ever heard of with this name so I doubt it will ever become common enough to become a girl name. [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] & [name_u]Asa[/name_u] are well established as boy names so they’re safe too
I agree with kala_way: [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] is absolutely recognizable as a boy’s name. In fact, I’d be weirded out if I met a girl by that name, because of the male philosopher. But anyway…
I think you’ll be fine with [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] as well. I’m less familiar with [name_u]Asa[/name_u], but it does read “male” to me :).
[name_u]Asa[/name_u] I would pronounce [name_m]Ace[/name_m]-ah. I do not think that little [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] would get teased. I think it’s actually a fairly well-used name for boys nowadays. [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is a very handsome name.
If I didn’t know about the philosopher, I would assume that [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] was a girl as well.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] about every masculine name is being used for girls at this point. Male names only become “full-on feminine” when parents stop giving them to their sons out of fear that their precious ball of testosterone will gasp share their name with a girl. The idea that ending in a vowel sound makes a boy’s name a good choice for a girl is just… odd.
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is a personal favorite. I like [name_u]Asa[/name_u] too and pronounce it “ace-ah.”
I don’t see [name_u]Asa[/name_u] or [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] turning to girl’s names, names such as [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_u]Luca[/name_u], [name_m]Elijah[/name_m], and [name_m]Jonah[/name_m] haven’t.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u] I don’t see becoming popular enough to become known as either, and if it did I imagine it’d stay neutral. (Like [name_u]River[/name_u], [name_u]Sequoia[/name_u], [name_m]Forest[/name_m], which I think of male names).
I’ve always had a soft spot for boys names ending in -a. They sound great. I definitely think (and hope!) that [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] will stay a boy name for now. I really love [name_u]Asa[/name_u], I pronounce it AY-suh and I think it sounds very handsome on a boy. Names ending in -a tend to be viewed as more feminine but I think that a boy can totally rock a name like that.