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Help[Opinions] Dunja
What do you think of Dunja (DOON-ya)?
It has three different meanings in Russian, Arabic and several Slavic languages, according to this site.
Just curious, which meaning do you like best?
World/life (Arabic)
Quince (Serbian, Croatian etc.)
to be well pleased/satisfied (Russian)
and if you are from a background in which it means 'quince', is this odd to you? Just wondering how it is perceived. And is it popular where you live? If so, are other names that have a fruit-meaning used too? Which ones? I'm curious ;)
Dunja, Dunya, Dunia, Dounia - which do you prefer?
Thanks :)
It has three different meanings in Russian, Arabic and several Slavic languages, according to this site.
Just curious, which meaning do you like best?
World/life (Arabic)
Quince (Serbian, Croatian etc.)
to be well pleased/satisfied (Russian)
and if you are from a background in which it means 'quince', is this odd to you? Just wondering how it is perceived. And is it popular where you live? If so, are other names that have a fruit-meaning used too? Which ones? I'm curious ;)
Dunja, Dunya, Dunia, Dounia - which do you prefer?
Thanks :)
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Love this name, though I've only seen the spellings Dunia and Dounia (both people of Arab descent). I do recall that in Russian, Dunya can be a nickname for Avdotya, which is a very old-fashioned name. I like the Dounia spelling a lot -- it seems most likely to be pronounced correctly. But Dunia is also quite elegant.
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Dunja is the fruit here. As a name it was most popular at the same time as Sanja, Tanja, Sonja, Vanja, so I kind of just lump it in that group.
I know a few Dunjas and no one’s ever mention the fruit meaning that I’ve noticed. Quince as fruit has a rather nostalgic, romantic connotation here and is quite common. It’s used like apples in deserts, jams and as scent.
The only other fruit names that are common are Višnja and Jagoda. I’ve also seen Malina a couple of times.
I know a few Dunjas and no one’s ever mention the fruit meaning that I’ve noticed. Quince as fruit has a rather nostalgic, romantic connotation here and is quite common. It’s used like apples in deserts, jams and as scent.
The only other fruit names that are common are Višnja and Jagoda. I’ve also seen Malina a couple of times.
This message was edited 3/27/2019, 2:13 PM
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1970s and 1980s were peak decades for these names.
l'm a Sanja and that was in top 5 for my generation.
Dunja wasn't anywhere near that. We don't have popularity stats for these years, only top 10 for decades and it isn't on there.
As l said l've only met 3-4 Dunjas in my life, on the other hand I was one of 4 Sanjas in my classroom of 30 in school. Just to give you an idea.
Yeah, they’re dated now. I guess something like Heather, everyone knows one, but no kids with these names.
l'm a Sanja and that was in top 5 for my generation.
Dunja wasn't anywhere near that. We don't have popularity stats for these years, only top 10 for decades and it isn't on there.
As l said l've only met 3-4 Dunjas in my life, on the other hand I was one of 4 Sanjas in my classroom of 30 in school. Just to give you an idea.
Yeah, they’re dated now. I guess something like Heather, everyone knows one, but no kids with these names.
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Thanks! Do you happen to know where I can find statistics from the 70s, 80s or even 90s? The top lists per decade that you mentioned, I mean :)
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I can’t find it online, but a few years back I sent an e-mail to our statistics office and they sent me these lists:
GIRLS
1900-1949.
1. Marija
2. Ana
3. Kata
4. Dragica
5. Ljubica
6. Milka
7. Mara
8. Katarina
9. Anka
10. Marica
1951-1999.
1. Marija
2. Ivana
3. Ana
4. Mirjana
5. Marina
6. Vesna
7. Martina
8. Sanja
9. Kristina
10. Maja
2000-2010.
1. Ana
2. Lucija
3. Lana
4. Petra
5. Sara
6. Marija
7. Ema
8. Nika
9. Iva
10. Laura
BOYS
1900-1949.
1. Ivan
2. Josip
3. Stjepan
4. Franjo
5. Nikola
6. Milan
7. Petar
8. Ante
9. Marko
10. Antun
1951-1999.
1. Ivan
2. Josip
3. Željko
4. Marko
5. Ivica
6. Tomislav
GIRLS
1900-1949.
1. Marija
2. Ana
3. Kata
4. Dragica
5. Ljubica
6. Milka
7. Mara
8. Katarina
9. Anka
10. Marica
1951-1999.
1. Marija
2. Ivana
3. Ana
4. Mirjana
5. Marina
6. Vesna
7. Martina
8. Sanja
9. Kristina
10. Maja
2000-2010.
1. Ana
2. Lucija
3. Lana
4. Petra
5. Sara
6. Marija
7. Ema
8. Nika
9. Iva
10. Laura
BOYS
1900-1949.
1. Ivan
2. Josip
3. Stjepan
4. Franjo
5. Nikola
6. Milan
7. Petar
8. Ante
9. Marko
10. Antun
1951-1999.
1. Ivan
2. Josip
3. Željko
4. Marko
5. Ivica
6. Tomislav
This message was edited 3/28/2019, 4:28 PM
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It's a new favorite of mine. It seems exuberant but, at the same time, sedate, and I like that.
The pronunciation's ambiguous in English with all the spellings (Dounia reminds me of "noun", so I want to pronounce it like "down"). I think Dunja looks nicest, but Dunya looks simplest, so ultimately, I'd probably pick Dunya, if I were using it myself. Doonya would probably be most true to the pronunciation, but I think that looks goofy.
I count the Greek derivation...because I like "to think/imagine/suppose good" or "good to think/imagine/suppose" more than "to be satisfied"; they're similar but not really the same to me. I also like names that mean "life", plus I think the Serbian/Croatian meaning is quirky - unlike most fruit, quinces are bitter, and I like the contrast of that.
The only names I can think of with a "fruit" related meaning actually mean "fruitful", and those aren't common. Or if I think of actual word names in English...they're not unheard of, but they don't have the best reputation. I have an aunt-by-marriage named Kiwi, and her in-laws at least definitely mock her name behind her back. Or, I guess Clementine counts as a fruit name? It's perceived better if it has another meaning and/or is already an established name, but that doesn't apply to most fruits in English.
The pronunciation's ambiguous in English with all the spellings (Dounia reminds me of "noun", so I want to pronounce it like "down"). I think Dunja looks nicest, but Dunya looks simplest, so ultimately, I'd probably pick Dunya, if I were using it myself. Doonya would probably be most true to the pronunciation, but I think that looks goofy.
I count the Greek derivation...because I like "to think/imagine/suppose good" or "good to think/imagine/suppose" more than "to be satisfied"; they're similar but not really the same to me. I also like names that mean "life", plus I think the Serbian/Croatian meaning is quirky - unlike most fruit, quinces are bitter, and I like the contrast of that.
The only names I can think of with a "fruit" related meaning actually mean "fruitful", and those aren't common. Or if I think of actual word names in English...they're not unheard of, but they don't have the best reputation. I have an aunt-by-marriage named Kiwi, and her in-laws at least definitely mock her name behind her back. Or, I guess Clementine counts as a fruit name? It's perceived better if it has another meaning and/or is already an established name, but that doesn't apply to most fruits in English.
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