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Does anyone know the possible etymology of these names? I recently met female twins named Sanya and Vanya. I think the girls bearing the names are of Russian or Eastern European origin. They seem to follow a Russian nickname pattern, but BtN doesn't explain origins.
I have seen Vanya before as a masculine nickname for Ivan, so perhaps it is being used as a feminine nickname for Ivana?
Thanks!
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Vote on my name list: http://babynames.com/namelist/9724506
I have seen Vanya before as a masculine nickname for Ivan, so perhaps it is being used as a feminine nickname for Ivana?
Thanks!
______________________________________________________________
Vote on my name list: http://babynames.com/namelist/9724506
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Replies
It's more probable that they're from some other Slavic country apart from Russia (as you've said Vanya is used as a male nickname in Russia).
In other countries (like Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc.) Vanja / Vanya is used as both a male and a female name and not as a nickname for anything (think Molly or Jack), but it did originate as a Russian nickname for Ivan (likewise Sasha is also used as a female and a male full name).
Sanya (or Sanja in most Slavic countries) is a form of Sonja which originated as a nickname for Sofia, but is used as a full name now (same with Tanja).
+ Sanja has a separate meaning in south-Slavic languages (Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian...), it means 'he/she/it dreams'.
In other countries (like Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc.) Vanja / Vanya is used as both a male and a female name and not as a nickname for anything (think Molly or Jack), but it did originate as a Russian nickname for Ivan (likewise Sasha is also used as a female and a male full name).
Sanya (or Sanja in most Slavic countries) is a form of Sonja which originated as a nickname for Sofia, but is used as a full name now (same with Tanja).
+ Sanja has a separate meaning in south-Slavic languages (Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian...), it means 'he/she/it dreams'.
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In Russian and Bulgarian, Sanya (Ñàíÿ) and Sonya (Ñîíÿ) are different and unrelated pet names, both female. Sanya comes from Alexandra, and Sonya comes from Sofia. Sonya and/or Sanya coming from the Slavic word for "sleep" is a naive etymology, not possible in Bulgaria, not probable in Russian (everybody in Russia knows that Sonya is a pet form of Sofia). This confusion could appear in former Yougoslavia only.
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How is Sanja quote: 'Sanya coming from the Slavic word for "sleep" is a naive etymology'?
How is it naive if something has a literal word meaning in another language (please note that I never mentioned Bulgarian with Sanja or that Sonja meant 'to sleep')? I would think that the original poster would like to know if the name is a word name in another language.
Also I have never seen Sanya or Sanja as a nickname for Alexandra mentioned anywhere (and I have been looking, seeing as it's my name).
I have also never found a Sanja that wasn't from ex-Yugoslavia (or had parents from there) and would like to know where else it's used.
Could you please tell me where you got this information and if the source is reliable?
How is it naive if something has a literal word meaning in another language (please note that I never mentioned Bulgarian with Sanja or that Sonja meant 'to sleep')? I would think that the original poster would like to know if the name is a word name in another language.
Also I have never seen Sanya or Sanja as a nickname for Alexandra mentioned anywhere (and I have been looking, seeing as it's my name).
I have also never found a Sanja that wasn't from ex-Yugoslavia (or had parents from there) and would like to know where else it's used.
Could you please tell me where you got this information and if the source is reliable?
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Hi Sofia,
You wrote: "Sanja .. is a form of Sonja which originated as a nickname for Sofia".
Yes, Sonja (Sonya, Ñîíÿ, female only) is a nickname for Sofia (female only). Everybody in Bulgaria or Russia knows that. Nobody links that name with the Russian word for "sleep" = "son". Lots of people in Bulgaria na Russia know that Sofia means wisdom.
However, Sanja is NOT a form of Sonja. Sanja is a pet name for Alexandra. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander#Variants_and_diminutives and find Sanya on the row for Russian. If you can read Russian, please go to http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80 also. This page lists even Sanjushka (Ñàíþøêà) as a pet name: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%8F.
In Russian, IMHO, Sasha is a male pet name (Alexander) and Sanja is a female pet name. I could be wrong as many Russian pet names are unisex.
Anyway, in Russia or Bulgaria, Sanja and Sonja are never confused. These are two different unrelated names.
In Bulgaria, both Sanja and Sonja are actually borrowed from Russian. True Bulgarian pet names are Sofka for Sofia and Sashka for Alexandra.
You wrote: "Sanja .. is a form of Sonja which originated as a nickname for Sofia".
Yes, Sonja (Sonya, Ñîíÿ, female only) is a nickname for Sofia (female only). Everybody in Bulgaria or Russia knows that. Nobody links that name with the Russian word for "sleep" = "son". Lots of people in Bulgaria na Russia know that Sofia means wisdom.
However, Sanja is NOT a form of Sonja. Sanja is a pet name for Alexandra. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander#Variants_and_diminutives and find Sanya on the row for Russian. If you can read Russian, please go to http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80 also. This page lists even Sanjushka (Ñàíþøêà) as a pet name: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%8F.
In Russian, IMHO, Sasha is a male pet name (Alexander) and Sanja is a female pet name. I could be wrong as many Russian pet names are unisex.
Anyway, in Russia or Bulgaria, Sanja and Sonja are never confused. These are two different unrelated names.
In Bulgaria, both Sanja and Sonja are actually borrowed from Russian. True Bulgarian pet names are Sofka for Sofia and Sashka for Alexandra.
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Edwin D. Lawson's article about Russian names (a very reliable source) lists Sasha as nickname for Alexander and Alexandra and Sanya only for Alexander (not for Sofya), which means that in Russian it is not even feminine:
http://www.fredonia.edu/faculty/emeritus/edwinlawson/russiannames/
It is probable that when heard by non-Russian speakers, the ending -a was interpreted as a feminine mark and connected by folk etymology with Sonya (because Sanya and Sonya are similar) and then used incorrectly.
That said, I completely agree that Wikipedia is not a reliable source in general (some of the versions are better than others), especially in onomastics.
http://www.fredonia.edu/faculty/emeritus/edwinlawson/russiannames/
It is probable that when heard by non-Russian speakers, the ending -a was interpreted as a feminine mark and connected by folk etymology with Sonya (because Sanya and Sonya are similar) and then used incorrectly.
That said, I completely agree that Wikipedia is not a reliable source in general (some of the versions are better than others), especially in onomastics.
This message was edited 11/13/2009, 12:08 AM
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Thank you so much for that information!
Well, in Croatia both Vanja and Sasha are used as unisex names, so I's not hard to see where Sanja would also go under this category (although Sanja is exclusively female here).
It's also possible that it was created as a mix of Sonja and Tanja here, since both names were very popular at the time Sanja came into prominence.
Add the fact that Sanja is a word name here, I doubt there even is a clear answer.
BTW, there's a male form in use here - Sanjin.
Well, in Croatia both Vanja and Sasha are used as unisex names, so I's not hard to see where Sanja would also go under this category (although Sanja is exclusively female here).
It's also possible that it was created as a mix of Sonja and Tanja here, since both names were very popular at the time Sanja came into prominence.
Add the fact that Sanja is a word name here, I doubt there even is a clear answer.
BTW, there's a male form in use here - Sanjin.
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