Sasha (name)
Sasha is a unisex name which originated in Eastern and Southern European countries as the shortened version of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also used as a surname, although very rarely. Alternative spellings include: Саша (Sasha – Russian, Serbo-Croatian), Сашо (Sasho – Bulgarian), Саше (Sashe – Macedonian), Saša (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian), Sașa (Romanian), Сашко (Sashko – Ukrainian), Sascha (German), Sasja (Danish and Swedish), Sacha (French), and סשה (Sasha – Yiddish and Hebrew).
Pronunciation | /ˈsæʃə/ SASH-ə /ˈsɑːʃə/ SAH-shə |
---|---|
Gender | Unisex |
Origin | |
Word/name | Slavic, from Greek |
Meaning | defender, helper of mankind |
Other names | |
Related names | Alexandra, Alexander, Aleksandr(a), Aleksandar, Saša, Sascha, Sacha, Sasho, Sasza, Satyana, Oleksandr(a) |
Usage
This name is especially common in Europe, where it is used by both females and males as a diminutive of Alexandra and Alexander, respectively. Despite its popularity in informal usage, the name is rarely recorded on birth certificates in countries such as the Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, as it is considered a diminutive, not a formal name. Exceptions are Croatia, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Switzerland.
In French-speaking regions (Belgium, France,[1] and Quebec[2]), Sacha is almost exclusively given to males.[3] In the United States the name is almost exclusively used for girls and ranked number 569 among U.S. baby names in 2014, although it didn't gain popularity until the 1970s.[4]
Notable people bearing this name
A–D
- Sasha Alexander, Serbian-American actress
- Sasha Allen, American singer and actress
- Sasha Andrews, Canadian football defender
- Saša Antunović, Serbian footballer
- Sasha Argov (1914–95), Russian-born Israeli composer
- Sasha Artemev, American gymnast
- Sasha Banks, american wrestler (WWE)
- Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971), British actor and comedian of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno fame
- Sasha Barkov, Finnish hockey player
- Sasha Barrese, American actress
- Sacha Bennett, British Film-maker
- Sacha Dean Biyan, noted American fashion photographer
- Saša Bjelanović, Croatian football player
- Saša Bogunović, Serbian football player
- Sasha Chorny, Russian poet
- Saša Cilinšek, Serbian football player
- Saša Ćirić, football player from the Republic of Macedonia of Serbian origin
- Sasha Cohen (born 1984), American Olympic figure skater
- Sasha Cooke, American mezzo-soprano
- Saša Ćurčić, Serbian former football midfielder
- Sasha De Sola, American ballet dancer
- Sascha Dikiciyan, German musician, known as Sonic Mayhem
- Sacha Distel, French singer
- Sasha Dobson, American jazz singer
- Saša Đorđević (footballer) (born 1981), Serbian footballer
- Aleksandar Đorđević (Saša) (born 1967), Serbian basketball player and coach
- Saša Dragin, Minister in Serbia
- Saša Drakulić, Serbian footballer
G–O
- Sasha Gabor, Norwegian pornographic actor
- Saša Gajser, Slovenian footballer
- Saša Gedeon, Czech director
- Sascha Gerstner, Guitarist of the power metal band Helloween
- Sasha Gollish (born 1981), Canadian competitive runner
- Sasha Gradiva (born 1979), Russian singer
- Sasha Grey, American pornographic actress
- Sacha Guitry, French actor and playwright
- Sascha Hehn, German actor
- Saša Ilić (footballer, born 1970), Macedonian football goalkeeper
- Saša Ilić (footballer, born 1972), Serbian-Australian football goalkeeper
- Saša Ilić (footballer, born 1977), Serbian football midfielder
- Saša Imprić, Croatian swimmer
- Sasha Issenberg, American journalist
- Saša Ivanović, Montenegrin football goalkeeper
- Saša Kajkut, Bosnian football player
- Sasha Kaun (born 1985), Russian basketball player
- Sascha Kindred British Paralympic swimmer
- Sacha Kljestan, American footballer
- Sascha Klein,German Olympic diver
- Saša Kocić, Serbian football player
- Alexander Kolowrat better known as "Sascha", American-born Austrian film producer of Bohemian (Czech) descent
- Sasha Kolpakov, Russian musician
- Sascha Konietzko, German musician, founder/frontman of Industrial band KMFDM
- Saša Kovačević, Serbian international footballer
- Sasha Kropotkin (1887–1966), Russian-American émigré, writer
- Sasha Lazard, American singer
- Saša Lošić, Yugoslavian composer
- Saša Lozar, Croatian pop singer of the former boy band Saša, Tin i Kedžo
- Sasha Luss, Russian model and actress
- Sasha Mäkilä, Finnish conductor and musician
- Saša Matić, Bosnian Serb singer
- Sasha Meneghel, Model, actress and volleyball player
- Sasha Mitchell, American actor, famous for his role in the TV series Step By Step
- Sasha Montenegro, Mexican actress
- Sasha Obama
- Saša Obradović, Serbian basketball player
P–Z
- Sasha P, Nigerian musician (real name Anthonia Yetunde Alabi)
- Saša Papac, Bosnia and Herzegovina association footballer
- Sasha Pavlović, professional basketball (NBA) player
- Saša Peršon, Croatian footballer
- Saša Petričić (born 1963), Serbian Canadian journalist
- Sasha Pieterse, American actress
- Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model
- Sascha Pohflepp, German artist and writer
- Sascha Radetsky, American ballet dancer and actor
- Saša Radivojević, Serbian football goalkeeper
- Saša Rakezić, Serbian cartoonist
- Saša Ranić, Slovenian footballer
- Sascha Riether, German footballer
- Sasha Roiz, Canadian actor
- Sacha Sacket, Singer-songwriter from California
- Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, American chemist
- Saša Simonović, Serbia footballer
- Sasha Skenderija, Bosnian-American poet
- Sasha Sökol, Mexican actress and singer
- Saša Stamenković, Serbian football goalkeeper
- Saša Todić, Serbian football goalkeeper
- Saša Toperić, Bosnian Israeli concert pianist
- Sacha Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian filmmaker and journalist, son of Pierre Trudeau
- Saša Vasiljević, Bosnian basketball player
- Saša Viciknez, Serbian footballer
- Sasha Victorine (born 1978), American football player
- Saša Vlaisavljević, Serbian engineer, business executive, and politician
- Sasha Vujačić (born 1984), Slovenian basketball player
- Sasha Williams, Canadian actress
- Saša Živec (born 1991), Slovenian footballer
- Sascha Zverev (born 1997), German tennis player
Codenames, stage personas, alter egos
- Sasha (espionage), an alleged Soviet mole in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
- Sasha (DJ), born Alexander Coe
- Sasha (Jamaican musician), born Christine Chin
- Sasha (German singer), born Sascha Schmitz
- Sasha Banks, American professional wrestler
- Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé's alter ego
- Sasha Velour, famous drag queen best known for appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9)
Animals
- Sasha (dog) (2004–2008), a Labrador dog that served in the British Army
- Galianora sacha (G. sacha), Ecuadorian jumping spider
Fictitious or mythical entities
Legend, myth, and religion
- Sasha and Zamani, spirits, two stages of time in Central and Eastern African cultures
Fictional animals and creatures
- Sasha, a character from the movie, Help! I'm a Fish
- Sasha, bird character from Walt Disney's Peter and the Wolf (1946 film)
- Sasha, cat from the book series Warriors by Erin Hunter
- Sacha, desman (water mole) in the animated television program Noah's Island
- Sasha La Fleur, a character from the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, the television series All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series, and An All Dogs Christmas Carol
- Sasha (Vampire), a character from the Twilight book and film series
- Sasha, female character from the Bratz franchise
Fictional people
By surname
- Sasha Antonov, a character from the 2014 Canadian television series Bitten
- Sasha Barbicon, the owner of an art gallery from the game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
- Sasha Belov, character from the TV show Make It or Break It
- Sasha Bezmel, character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away
- Sash Bishop, character from the Irish soap opera Fair City
- Sasha Bordeaux, DC Comics character, former ally of Batman
- Sasha Braus, character from the anime/manga series Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)
- Saša Bůčková, character from Czech sitcom Comeback
- Sasha Dixon, character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell, the protagonist of The Qwaser of Stigmata
- Sascha König, character from the television drama Inspector Rex, episode 8x13
- Sasha Kreutzev, character from the anime/novel series A Certain Magical Index (Toaru Majutsu no Index)
- Sacha Levy, AAU Registrar in the BBC TV series Holby City
- Sasha Nein, powerful psychonaut and instructor from the game Psychonauts
- Sasha Perkins, character from the series EastEnders
- Sascha Petrosevitch, character from the 2002 film Half Past Dead
- Sasha Thompson, leader of the Mad Dogs and a target in CHERUB book Mad Dogs
- Sasha Williams (The Walking Dead), Tyreese's sharpshooter sister on The Walking Dead TV series
Surnameless people
- Sasha, Russian pilot in the 2009 movie 2012 (film)
- Sasha, Ted Mundy's absolute friend in John le Carré's espionage novel Absolute Friends (2003)
- Sasha, commanding officer from the game Advance Wars: Dual Strike
- Sasha, romantic love interest of Ginger in Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger
- Sascha, a reaper in the manga Black Butler by Yana Toboso
- Sasha, character from the Bratz line of fashion dolls, see List of Bratz characters
- Sascha, the Russian bartender at Rick's Café Américain, played by Leonid Kinskey in Casablanca (1942)
- Sasha, the enigmatic female hacker from the film Cube 2: Hypercube (2003)
- Sasha, the leader of The Reapers gang in Infamous (video game)
- Sasha, the character from the film The Last Station (2009)
- Sasha, the Muscovite princess in the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
- Sasha, the character from the Japanese manga Pita-Ten
- Sasha, the reincarnation of Athena in the manga Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
- Sasha, character from Adult Swim's Titan Maximum
- Captain Sasha from the Ratchet & Clank series
- Sweet Sasha, a doll from Ty Girlz
Inanimate objects
- Sasha is the name Heavy gives to his minigun in the game Team Fortress 2
Similar names
Similar names in various languages include:[5]
- Albanian: Dasha, Vasha
- Bosnian: Safiha, Sabiha
- Croatian: Saša
- Danish: Sasja
- Dutch: Saskia
- English: Tasha
- French: Sascha
- Georgian: Lasha
- German: Sascha
- Hindi: Asha, Sashi, Shashi, Shikha
- Macedonian: Sashka, Sasho
- Muslim: Salha
- Nepali: Asha, Aasha, Sashi
- Persian: Pasha, Rasha
- Portuguese: Sancha
- Russian: Саша, Sashka
- Serbian: Saša
- Slovak: Saša, Saška
- Slovenian: Saša
- Spanish: Sancha
- Swedish: Sassa
- Swiss: Sascha
- Thai: Sasicha
- Turkish: Saliha, Sabiha
See also
References
- "Sasha". Behind the Name.
- "Sacha". rrq.gouv.qc.ca.
- "Sasha". rrq.gouv.qc.ca.
- "Popular Names". Social Security Administration. USA.
- First name Sasha – NamepediA, data page about the name Sasha