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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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