Tanya

See also: tanya

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed in the twentieth century from the Russian pet form Та́ня (Tánja) of Татья́на (Tatʹjána, “Tatiana”).

Alternative forms

• Tania, Taniya

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑːnjə/, /ˈtænjə/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɑnjə/
• Rhymes: (UK) -ɑːnjə, (UK) -ænjə, (US) -ɑnjə

Proper noun

Tanya

1. A diminutive of the female given name Tatiana, from Russian.
   • 1989, Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 298:

     “Did Tanya... why, by the way, was she named Tanya? It's not a Southern name, is it?” “No,” said Fanny, “it's as Russian as Vladimir. But only a few people ever pronounced it correctly. I always did. Most people said ‘Tan-ya’, like the color tan. She and her mother hated it when that happened, and complained. I suggested they replace the a in Tan with an o, but they preferred to make a lifelong habit of correcting people.”

Usage notes

Usually spelled Tania in the UK and Tanya in the US.

Translations

female given name — see Tania

Etymology 2

From Hebrew תַּנְיָא (tanyā), the first word in the book, from Aramaic תַּנְיָא (tanyā, “it was taught [in a Baraita]”).

Proper noun

Tanya

1. the main work of Chabad Hassidic philosophy, formally called Likkutei Amarim, written by Shneur Zalman of Liadi, first published in 1797

Anagrams

• Tanay, Yanta, natya

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Tanya, from Russian pet form Та́ня (Tánja) of Татья́на (Tatʹjána, “Tatiana”).

Proper noun

Tanya

1. a female given name from English [in turn from Russian]