From the TV series, Bewitched:
Samantha, Endora, Tabitha, Clara, Serena, Esmerelda, Hagatha, etc.
From Sebrina the Teenage Witch:
Sebrina, Hilda, Zelda, etc.
In fact, I've found that there are a large number of popular witches with names that end in 'a'. From a list in the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, I found nearly half the names of those witches end with 'a'.
This doesn't look like random chance. Does anyone know the reason behind it?
2006-07-27 09:49:14 · 12 answers · asked by BC 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
The writers for the shows probably just did it to make the characters seem more mystical or exotic. On Charmed, some of the witches' (main characters and minor characters included) names are: Prue/Pru (Prudence), Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Penny (Penelope), Melinda (she was only in one episode), and Charlotte (same as Melinda).
2006-07-27 11:08:45 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Robert Heinlein, a science fiction author, had an author character in one of his books mention that female characters whose names end with "a" imply at least a C cup in the mind of the reader... he used character names ending with "a" when he wanted "bimbo"-esque characters.
Because of the Latin language connections in English, we think of words ending with "a" as being feminine, and words ending in "o" as masculine. It's a way to have a solidly female sounding name without the childlike effect of the "-ie" ending, or the often snobbish connotations of "-ette."
You can put almost any syllables in front of "-a", and have it sound like a reasonable woman's name in English: Zola. Thelga. Manora. Kifera. Yaoleena.
2006-07-28 21:25:37 · answer #2 · answered by Elfwreck 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Endora's name comes from a witch in the Bible, the witch of Endor mentioned in 1 Samuel. Why they end in the letter A though, I don't know.
2006-07-27 09:56:10 · answer #3 · answered by pvtillman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most female names end in the word -a, at least in Western cultures. Most TV witches tend to be female. Therefore, it is not odd for many TV witches names to end in the word -a.
2006-07-27 11:12:07 · answer #4 · answered by Isis-sama 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am a witch and I have no clue as to why. However I found it funny that my birthname ends in an "a". However I was originally Catholic. My coven name (for the outsiders) is Gypsy. Obviously no "a" in that name. I think it is just due to poor imangination.
2006-07-29 17:45:34 · answer #5 · answered by ldyrhiannon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps it is because throughout history witches have been thought of as women and names (and words) ending with the letter "a" imply femininity. (sp?) There are at least six other media witches I can think of who don't end with 'a': Willow, Piper, Prue, Pagie, Nancy, and Phoebe. There are probably others that I can't think of....
2006-07-27 09:55:23 · answer #6 · answered by Phoenix's Mommy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hagatha The Witch
2016-11-17 02:19:57 · answer #7 · answered by moriyon 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
About half of girl's names end in a. And in some cultures, Russian for example, all girls names end in a. It is common in many cultures to feminize words, not just names, by ending them in a.
2006-07-27 15:24:43 · answer #8 · answered by Mr. Bodhisattva 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lawrence ah-h-h-hhh Welk ah-h-h-h-h-h may have had something to do with it a-h-h-h-hhh Turn off the Bubble machine ah-h-h-h-h-hhh!
2006-07-27 13:56:20 · answer #9 · answered by Boliver Bumgut 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
im not sure, probably random
2006-07-27 13:14:59 · answer #10 · answered by i_love_orange_crush_05 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋