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Since most feminine conjugations of Russian names, as well as nouns and adjectives either end with a, or я, I find it weird that Никита is a typical masculine name?
I'm wondering if it is just an "exception" on the rule, or whether there is a logical explanation?
It comes from Greek masculine name Νικήτας meaning "victor". The Greek ending -ς is usually dropped in Russian so the word ends up with -α. This is similar to French masculine name Nicolas (which was also borrowed from Greek) where the final -s is not pronounced.
Typically short from of masculine first names also end in -а or -я.
For instance:
The following full form of masculine first names also end in -а or -я:
So it is not weird.
Russian nouns ending in -а or -я are either feminine or masculine.
Feminine: мама, тётя, Наташа, Ольга, Светлана
Masculine: папа, дядя, воевода, Никита, Данила, Серёжа, Саша, Коля, Петя
Well, your assumption is just wrong. There are some word which are masculine though are ending at -a or -я. Like:
