Å is a new character. It is not an a with an accent. It was created to replace the non letter aa.
Some names today still use the double a, like the Norwegian football player Martin Ødegaard. In that case it is pronounced the same as the "å" sound. (not too far from how an American might pronounce the "o" sound in "for")
While some script are deliberately designed, most are a result of gradual evolution.