Sasha (name)

Sasha is a unisex given name. It originated in countries of Eastern and Southern Europe as a diminutive of Aleksander and Aleksandra. It is also found as a surname, although this is very rare. Alternative spellings include: Сáша (Russian, Serbian), Сашо (Bulgarian), Саше (Macedonian), Saša (Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian), Sașa (Romanian), Sasza (Polish), Сашко (Ukrainian), Sascha (German), Sasja (Dutch and Swedish), and Sacha (French).

This name is especially common in Europe where it is used primarily by males as a diminutive of Alexander, although females may also use it as a diminutive of Alexandra. Despite its popularity in informal usage, the name is rarely recorded on birth certificates in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, as it is considered a diminutive and not a formal name. Exceptions are Serbia and Croatia.

In Germany, the civil registry offices allow the inscription of Sascha in birth certificates as a formal name but only for boys.

In French-speaking regions (France, Belgium...), it is given predominantly to males (Sacha), except in Quebec, where, at least since 2009, and with the exception of 2013, it was more popular for girls than for boys.^[1] In the United States the name is almost exclusively used for girls, at number 369 in the ranking of U.S. baby names, although it didn't gain popularity until the 1970s.

In the early period of Zionism, the name was common among Jewish males in Ottoman- and British-ruled Palestine, reflecting the East European origin of many pioneers. It became less common in 1950s and 1960s Israel, but revived with the new waves of Russian immigration to Israel in the 1970s and the larger wave of the 1990s.

Notable bearers of this name

A–K

• Sascha, German pornographic actor
• 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
• Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971), British actor and comedian of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno fame
• 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
• Saša Ćurčić, Serbian former football midfielder
• 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
• Sasha Gabor, Norwegian pornographic actor
• Saša Gajser, Slovenian footballer
• Saša Gedeon, Czech director
• Sasha Grey, American pornographic actress
• Sacha Guitry, French actor and playwright
• 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 playing for Anderlecht
• Saša Kocić, Serbian fooballer 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

L–Z

• Sasha Lazard, American singer
• Saša Lošić, Yugoslavian composer
• Saša Lozar, Croatian pop singer of the former boy band Saša, Tin i Kedžo
• 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, younger daughter of Barack Obama, see Family of Barack Obama#Malia Obama and Sasha Obama
• Saša Obradović, Serbian basketball player
• 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 Radetsky, American ballet dancer and actor
• Saša Radivojević, Serbian football goalkeeper
• Saša Rakezić, Serbian cartoonist
• Saša Ranić, Slovenian footballer
• Sasha Roiz, Canadian actor
• Sacha Sacket, Singer-Songwriter from California
• Sasha (deejay), Jamaican DJ
• Sasha (DJ), Welsh DJ (real name Alexander Coe)
• Sasha (espionage), alleged Soviet mole in the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
• Sascha Schmitz, German singer
• 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

Fictional Sashas

• Sasha (The Walking Dead), Tyreese's sister on The Walking Dead TV series
• 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
• Saša Bůčková, character from Czech sitcom Comeback
• Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé Knowles's alter ego
• Sascha König, character from the television drama Inspector Rex, episode 8x13
• Sasha La Fleur, character from the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
• Sacha Levy, AAU Registrar in the BBC TV series Holby City
• Sasha Nein, powerful psychonaut and instructor from the game Psychonauts
• 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, character from Adult Swim's Titan Maximum
• Sasha, character from the 2009 film The Last Station
• Sasha, commanding officer from the game Advance Wars: Dual Strike
• Sasha, Russian pilot in the 2009 movie 2012 (film)
• Sasha, bird character from Walt Disney's Peter and the Wolf (1946 film)
• Sasha, cat from the book series Warriors by Erin Hunter
• Sasha, character from the Bratz line of fashion dolls, see List of Bratz characters
• Sasha, character from the Japanese manga Pita-Ten
• Sasha, enigmatic female hacker from the 2003 film Cube 2: Hypercube
• Sasha, romantic love interest of Ginger in Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger
• Sasha, Ted Mundy's absolute friend in John le Carré's 2003 espionage novel Absolute Friends
• Sasha, the leader of The Reapers gang in Infamous (video game)
• Sasha, the Muscovite princess in the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
• Sacha, desman (water mole) in the animated television program Noah's Island
• Sacha, The Heavy's stock minigun in the game Team Fortress 2
• Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell, protagonist of The Qwaser of Stigmata
• Captain Sasha from the Ratchet & Clank series.

Mythical

• Sasha and Zamani, spirits, two stages of time in Eastern and Central African cultures

Other

• "Sascha … ein aufrechter Deutscher", song by Die Toten Hosen from the album Kauf MICH!

See also

• Sasha
• Satyana

References

External links

Look up Sasha in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Behind the Name