# Daanya/Daniya/Daania



## nkh74

I was wondering if anyone could post the arabic letters for the different forms of this name.  To me, they all look about the same.  There are many Arabic/Muslim name websites that differentiate between them but do not give a pronounciation guide.

I believe "Daanya" is "gift of God"
and Daania is 'beautiful' 
and Daniya is "closer/near"  
(I may have gotten those last two switched).

So basically my question is- is this an Arabic word (I know its also a Hebrew word for 'god is my judge") and if so, what are the different pronouncations and does that really change the meaning?  Lastly, are the meanings I posted correct?

I can read some Arabic so if anyone could post the arabic letters that would be great...THANKS!


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## lcfatima

I have seen this as a new, modern Pakistani female name, but I was also unable to find a well-sourced meaning and suspect it may be meaningless and unsound as an Islamic name. A lot of babyname sites have this flaw because the names are added by non-linguists with an add-name feature and you can find a lot of nonsense names on them. Perhaps ask in the Indo-Iranian section as well to see if it has a Farsi meaning. I hope it does have a meaning because it is a lovely name.


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## cherine

The only meaning I know of Danya دانية is close or near.


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## lcfatima

Cherine, can that make a name or is it a preposition?


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## Faylasoof

Fatima, apparently it is a name, see here. The name of a Lebanese singer. Never saw it before.
دانية means as Cherine mentions <close, near >. Derived from the verb دَناform III = to get close  etc.


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## cherine

lcfatima said:


> Cherine, can that make a name or is it a preposition?


As Faylasoof said, it's a name. More precisely it's what we call in Arabic اسم فاعل ; a noun indicating the doer/subject of a verb.
The masculine is داني and we'd write it without the final yaa2 in the indefinite: دانٍ .
It's usually used as an adjective meaning near or close.


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## Josh_

Hmm.  It appears that دانية is the name (considering Faylasoof's link to the Lebanese singer).  However, I still hesitate to think that it is from the root د-ن-و/ي which, as far as I'm aware, has meanings related to baseness, lowliness in addition to closeness/nearness.   Perhaps it came to Arabic by way of some other language.

At any rate, if it is from د-ن-و/ي it is probably the feminine active participle (فاعل) of the form I verb, not from the form III.

As a point of interest, my initial thought when I saw the thread was that it might me ضنايا (Danaaya) -- a combination of the word ضنى _Dana_ (child/ren) with the first person possession pronoun ـيّ/ـيا -- which is a term of endearment said, for example, by a mother to her child.  This is an Egyptian usage, and I believe occurs more with the lower classes.  I do not think it occurs in MSA.

However, I know this is not the case.

Edit:  Cherine and I were typing at the same time.


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## lcfatima

I also thought it could be a diminutive of Dana (I think this means a pearl), like Dana to Dandoona or Danoona. Would Daniya word as a diminutive of Dana?


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## cherine

Josh_ said:


> I still hesitate to think that it is from the root د-ن-و/ي which, as far as I'm aware, has meanings related to baseness, lowliness in addition to closeness/nearness. Perhaps it came to Arabic by way of some other language.


The adjective دانٍ - دانية is mostly about being close than being low. In the Qur'an, for example, one of the description of the paradise's trees is that their fruits are close to one's hand: قطوفها دانية .


> At any rate, if it is from د-ن-و/ي it is probably the feminine active participle (فاعل) of the form I verb, not from the form III.


Although I don't know much about those verb forms, I think you're right about this. It does follow the pattern فاعل/فاعلة .


> As a point of interest, my initial thought when I saw the thread was that it might me ضنايا (Danaaya) -- a combination of the word ضنى _Dana_ (child/ren) with the first person possession pronoun ـيّ/ـيا -- which is a term of endearment said, for example, by a mother to her child. This is an Egyptian usage, and I believe occurs more with the lower classes. I do not think it occurs in MSA.


I don't think it either. الضنى mainly means hardship and some sort of suffering. So, I don't think it's the word we're talking about here.


lcfatima said:


> I also thought it could be a diminutive of Dana (I think this means a pearl), like Dana to Dandoona or Danoona. Would Daniya word as a diminutive of Dana?


I'm not sure, but I think that the diminutive of Dana دانة is Duwayna دوينة.


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## bakshink

*These words exist in Hindi*
*दाना* पुं. [फा.दानः] 1.अन्न का कण या बीज। (Dana- from farsi Danah- A food grain or seed)
*दान**:  Donation*

*दानिनी**: *स्त्री. [सं.] दान करनेवाली स्त्री। ( Danini: A female who donates)
*देन**: *कोई ऐसी महत्वपूर्ण चीज या बात जो किसी बडे व्यक्ति, ईश्वर आदि से मिली हो तथा जिससे विशेष उपकार या हित होता हो । ( Daen: A gift from some one elder or God )


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## BP.

Building on bakshink's 2nd idea, دانیہ appears to be the feminine of دانی, which literally means 'giver' and therefore سخی or فیٌاض, though its usage is very rare compared to the latter two. This construction being in Urdu is therefore from the 'danini' in Hindi, though Hindi/Sanskrit are obviously the source of the word.

Old Farsi apparently had a lot in common with Sanskrit and if you say _daania_ is a Persian word, it might carry the same meaning.

'grain/seed' seems completely off.


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## Faylasoof

Hi All,



Josh_ said:


> ...Perhaps it came to Arabic by way of some other language.





Josh_ said:


> .At any rate, if it is from د-ن-و/ي it is probably the feminine active participle (فاعل) of the form I verb, not from the form III.


 Yes Josh, it is an active participle of form I. What threw me off was a not too close reading of Steingass! The active particle of form III would be < مُفاعِل mufaa3il>.

.. and why do you feel د-ن-و/ي came from another language?



Josh_ said:


> .. my initial thought when I saw the thread was that it might me





Josh_ said:


> ضنايا (Danaaya) --.. This is an Egyptian usage, and I believe occurs more with the lower classes. I do not think it occurs in MSA....


 I haven’t seen ضنايا in fus7a but the verb ضَنِئَ does exist. New dictionaries (Hans Wehr included) don’t seem to give this but both Lane and Solomone have it with the meaning <to have many children etc.> and form IV has a similar meaning.

Along the same lines, ضَنْء (sing) ضُنُوء (pl.) = progeny, children; while ضِنْء = stock, race. The active participles ضانئ (masc.) and ضانئة (fem.) = having many children, large progeny (also for cattle).

From ضَنِيَ we also have ضَنْو and ضِنْو = children, while ضاني / ضأني (from ضَانَ / ضَأنَ ) = mutton!



cherine said:


> دانٍ - دانية is mostly about being close than being low. In the Qur'an, for example, one of the description of the paradise's trees is that their fruits are close to one's hand: قطوفها دانية


 I tend to agree with this.Both دَنَا / يَدنُو and دَنْو occur frequently in other classical texts too, with the meaning of <to come near, approach>. Here are a few examples:

Nahjul Balaghah (Ali Ibn AbiTalib – from a sermon on God’s attributes).

سَبقَ في العُلُوِّ فَلا شَيْءَ أعْلَى مِنهُ و قَرُبَ فِي الدُّنُو فَلا شَيْءَ أقْرَبُ مِنهُ​ 
al-Bukhari
*بَابٌ الزَّكَاةُ*​ 
مِنْ أَهْلِ نَجْدٍ ثَائِرُ الرَّأْسِ يُسْمَعُ دَوِيُّ صَوْتِهِ وَلَا يُفْقَهُ مَا يَقُولُ حَتَّى دَنَا فَإِذَا هُوَ يَسْأَلُ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ​ 
*قَتْلِ حَمْزَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْـمُطَّلِبِ*​ 
قَالَ ثُمَّ شَدَّ عَلَيْهِ فَكَانَ كَأَمْسِ الذَّاهِبِ قَالَ وَكَمَنْتُ لِحَمْزَةَ تَحْتَ صَخْرَةٍ فَلَمَّا دَنَا مِنِّي رَمَيْتُهُ بِحَرْبَتِي فَأَضَعُهَا فِي ثُنَّتِهِ حَتَّى خَرَجَتْ مِنْ بَيْنِ وَرِكَيْهِ​ 


تاريخ الطبري ج 8

فأمر أبو أحمد عند ذلك ابنه أبا العباس بالتقدم إلى سور المدينة ورشق من عليه بالسهام ففعل ذلك ودنا حتى ألصق شذواته بمسناة قصر الخائن​ 



lcfatima said:


> I also thought it could be a diminutive of Dana (I think this means a pearl), like Dana to Dandoona or Danoona...


 Fatima, I’ve never heard of these as such to mean a <pearl>, unless you were thinking of رُر دانہ durr daanah = single pearl, in Persian-Urdu ( رُرdurr is from Arabic and دانہdaanah /daaneh from Persian).




BelligerentPacifist said:


> Building on bakshink's 2nd idea, دانیہ appears to be the feminine of دانی, ….This construction being in Urdu is therefore from the 'danini' in Hindi, though Hindi/Sanskrit are obviously the source of the word…...


 BP,
As a matter of general rule we don’t feminize (تانیث) in this manner words derived from Indian languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Prakrit, Braj, Hindi etc.); Urdu being an exception as we have large elements of Arabic (and Persian) grammar and vocabulary and only these are subject to تانیث. Besides, I doubt that this name is of Persian (or Sanskrit) origin and still feel it is Arabic with the meaning of <close / near> as discussed above.

It might be of interest to know that both in Spain and the Ivory Coast are towns / cities called Dania. They appear to be so named as a result of Arab-Muslim influence.


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## Josh_

Faylasoof said:


> .. and why do you feel د-ن-و/ي came from another language?


I didn't mean the root came from another language, but perhaps the name دانية.  The reason I said that is because of my initial thought of the Arabic root having to do with lowliness/baseness as well as closeness.  I wouldn't think a name would come from a root with that meaning. Even if it only has to do with closeness, I still think that is a strange meaning for a name (although there are stranger ones).  Also, I got the impression (maybe erroneously) that دانية is not a common Arabic name, which of course is no reason in itself to think that it is from a foreign source, but when combined with the other things I mentioned, that's just the idea that came to mind. 



> I haven’t seen ضنايا in fus7a but the verb ضَنِئَ does exist. New dictionaries (Hans Wehr included) don’t seem to give this but both Lane and Solomone have it with the meaning <to have many children etc.> and form IV has a similar meaning.
> 
> Along the same lines, ضَنْء (sing) ضُنُوء (pl.) = progeny, children; while ضِنْء = stock, race. The active participles ضانئ (masc.) and ضانئة (fem.) = having many children, large progeny (also for cattle).
> 
> From ضَنِيَ we also have ضَنْو and ضِنْو = children, while ضاني / ضأني (from ضَانَ / ضَأنَ ) = mutton!


Interesting research.  Thanks for that. I was not aware of this root before.  So maybe we could assume that ضنى, when it refers to children, must have come from the root ض-ن-ء (but lost any reference to the ء when it came into the Egyptian dialect), whereas the other meaning of hardship/suffering comes from the root  ض-ن-ي.  I checked the Hans Wehr and that root appears in it with the meanings of weakness, exhaustion, and wearing out, in which we can see a connection to hardship/suffering.

Perhaps the roots are related.  I mean parenting is at times a thankless toil frought with trials and tribulations and hardships and suffering that can leave one worn out and enervated. But, alas, 'tis all worth it in the end because children are a labor of love.

(While the above is true about parenting, the part about the two roots being related was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But who knows, maybe they are related in some way.)


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## sneuropa

cherine said:


> The adjective دانٍ - دانية is mostly about being close than being low. In the Qur'an, for example, one of the description of the paradise's trees is that their fruits are close to one's hand: قطوفها دانية .


 
Bakshink proposes the word is Farsi which I think it may be originally so, but the name Danya is from the Quran and is the name of the fruit laden branch in Paradise. 

A Syrian friend of mine has a daughter called Danya and he told me that this name was just this from the Quran.


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## Mahaodeh

Faylasoof said:


> Fatima, I’ve never heard of these as such to mean a <pearl>, unless you were thinking of رُر دانہ durr daanah = single pearl, in Persian-Urdu ( رُرdurr is from Arabic and دانہdaanah /daaneh from Persian).


 
This is a useful piece of information. I've been told that Dana (a name common in the Gulf region) means pearl (as does mouza, apparently!) but I've always doubted it's Arabic. Thanks for the info.

Can you please use the Arabic Alphabet to write it, because I'm not sure I can read the first part properly.




Josh_ said:


> I didn't mean the root came from another language, but perhaps the name دانية. The reason I said that is because of my initial thought of the Arabic root having to do with lowliness/baseness as well as closeness. I wouldn't think a name would come from a root with that meaning. Even if it only has to do with closeness, I still think that is a strange meaning for a name (although there are stranger ones).




But the root does not mean _either low or close_, it means _both low and close_; sometimes what is meant is only one (either low or close) but you can only tell from the context...if it's clear.

The two most common uses for the word is to refer to the low branches of trees, it's actually مديح because they are close: قطوف دانية; the other is in the expression: القاصي والداني = the far and the near.

I don't feel that the word has a negative connotation; الاسم هو دانية وليس دنيئة . 





Josh_ said:


> Also, I got the impression (maybe erroneously) that دانية is not a common Arabic name, [





Josh_ said:


> /quote]
> 
> You are not far off; it's not a very common name (not as common as mine ), but then again, it's not so uncommon that when you hear it you say "oh, what reminded you of that name", it's moderately used I would say.


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## Faylasoof

Mahaodeh said:


> This is a useful piece of information. I've been told that Dana (a name common in the Gulf region) means pearl (as does mouza, apparently!) but I've always doubted it's Arabic. Thanks for the info.



mouza? How is it written in Arabic? Not موزة  (banana) I hope!



> Can you please use the Arabic Alphabet to write it, because I'm not sure I can read the first part properly.


 
I guess you mean this way: دُر دانہ \ دانة durr daanah


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## Mahaodeh

Faylasoof said:


> mouza? How is it written in Arabic? Not موزة (banana) I hope!


 
Yes, موزة, I've heard it in Kuwait, Qatar and UAE and they say it means pearl or some other prescious stome so I'm guessing that it does not have an Arabic origin because mouza means banana.



Faylasoof said:


> I guess you mean this way: دُر دانہ \ دانة durr daanah


 
Yes, thanks, I think you had a typo because you wrote it رُر.


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## Faylasoof

Hi Mahaodeh,


> Yes, thanks, I think you had a typo because you wrote it رُر.


 Sorry for the typo! ... and thanks for pointing it out.

I must mention that  دُردانہ is a proper female name used in Indo-Pak and Iran.  It is possible that <Dana / Danah / Daanah دانہ> as used in parts of the Gulf is a vestige of the full name to mean the same - pearl. Unrelated to دانیہ of course, which we all agree is a proper Arabic name.


Mahaodeh said:


> Yes, موزة, I've heard it in Kuwait, Qatar and UAE and they say it means pearl or some other prescious stome so I'm guessing that it does not have an Arabic origin because mouza means banana.


BTW, even موز (moz) may have a non-Arabic origin! I found it means the same in Pahlavi (Middle Persian), i.e banana!! But موزة (mouza) as a pearl beats me.!


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## lcfatima

> Originally Posted by *Mahaodeh*
> 
> 
> Yes, موزة, I've heard it in Kuwait, Qatar and UAE and they say it means pearl or some other prescious stome so I'm guessing that it does not have an Arabic origin because mouza means banana.


 
Yes, very very common, and I would add Oman to that list. I have also been told orally many times that the meaning is a pearl.


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