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Help[Facts] Re: Sanya & Vanya
in reply to a message by Sofia
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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Replies
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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