The name Danya began showing up in the U.S. baby name data in 1939:
- 1943: 9 baby girls named Danya
- 1942: 7 baby girls named Danya
- 1941: 16 baby girls named Danya
- 1940: 5 baby girls named Danya
- 1939: 7 baby girls named Danya [debut]
- 1938: unlisted
- 1937: unlisted
The influence?
I think it was Danya hand cream, which was introduced by Pond’s in 1937.
Danya hand cream was advertised in both newspapers and magazines — particularly women’s magazines, such as Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, and Woman’s Home Companion.
In 1939, incidentally, it was cross-promoted with Drene shampoo. You could buy them both together for just 53¢ (a savings of 32¢!).
Despite all the marketing, Danya lotion saw poor sales. It was discontinued in 1943. (Monchel was another name-influencing beauty product that didn’t last long.)
The baby name Danya, on the other hand, stayed in the data for years to come. In fact, peak usage happened relatively recently: 126 baby girls in 2007.
What are your thoughts on the baby name Danya?
Sources:
- Cosmetics and Skin: Pond’s Extract Company
- Sutton, Denise H. Globalizing Ideal Beauty: Women, Advertising, and the Power of Marketing. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Images from Good Housekeeping (Mar. 1, 1940, page 131) and Chicago Sunday Tribune (Feb. 12, 1939, page 3).
Dania and the transliterated-from-Cyrillic Danya (both pronounced Dahn-ya) are Slavic-language diminutives for names like Daniel, Danielle, Daniela, and Danuta. I wonder if that’s the influence on modern usage of the name? Plus, it sounds like Anya with a D. I like it, especially as a diminutive for Daniela.
I know someone named this. It’s Hebrew
Danya/Dania is one of those names that happens to have various potential origins — Hebrew, Arabic, etc.