Sasha (name)

Sasha is a unisex given name. It originated in countries of Eastern and Southern Europe as the hypocorism of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also found as a surname, although this is very rare. Alternative spellings include: Саша ("Sasha" - Russian, Serbian), Сашо ("Sasho" - Bulgarian), Саше ("Sashe" - Macedonian), Saša (Slovenian, Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian), Sașa (Romanian), Sasza (Polish), Сашко ("Sashko" - Ukrainian), Sascha (German), Sasja (Dutch and Swedish), and Sacha (French).

Usage

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

In French-speaking regions (France,^[1] Belgium, Quebec^[2]), Sacha is almost exclusively given to males (Sasha is much rarer and approximately given equally to both genders^[3]). In the United States the name is almost exclusively used for girls (at number 569 in the ranking of U.S. baby names in 2014^[4]), although it didn't gain popularity until the 1970s.

Notable people bearing this name

A–D

• Sascha (actor), 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

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 (1981), Canadian competitive runner
• 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
• 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 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

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
• Sasha Roiz, Canadian actor
• Sacha Sacket, Singer-Songwriter from California
• 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
• Sascha Zverev (born 1997), German tennis player

Codenames, Mononymic stagenames

• Sasha (espionage), an alleged Soviet mole in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
• Sasha (DJ, born 1974), Jamaican DJ
• Sasha (DJ, born 1969), Welsh DJ (real name Alexander Coe)

Animals

• Sasha (dog) (2004–2008), a Labrador dog that served in the British Army

Fictional or mythical characters

Alter egos and stage personas

• Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé Knowles's alter ego
• Sasha Banks, American professional wrestler
• Sasha Velour, famous drag queen best known for appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9)

Legend, myth and religion

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

Fictional creatures and animals

• 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, and An All Dogs Christmas Carol
• Sasha, a character from the movie, Help! I'm a Fish

Fictional people

By surname

• 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
• 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
• 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

Surnameless, by IP

• Sasha, Russian pilot in the 2009 movie 2012 (film)
• Sasha, Ted Mundy's absolute friend in John le Carré's 2003 espionage novel Absolute Friends
• 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
• Sasha, the Russian bartender at Rick's Cafe Americain in Casablanca
• Sasha, enigmatic female hacker from the 2003 film Cube 2: Hypercube
• Sasha, the leader of The Reapers gang in Infamous (video game)
• Sasha, character from the 2009 film The Last Station
• Sasha, the Muscovite princess in the novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf
• Sasha, character from the Japanese manga Pita-Ten
• Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell, protagonist of The Qwaser of Stigmata
• Captain Sasha from the Ratchet & Clank series
• Sasha, the reincarnation of Athena in the manga Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
• Sasha, character from Adult Swim's Titan Maximum
• Sweet Sasha, a doll from Ty Girlz
• Sasha (The Walking Dead), Tyreese's sister on The Walking Dead TV series

Other

• Sacha, The Heavy's stock minigun in the game Team Fortress 2
• Sasha Antonov, a character from the 2014 television series Bitten

Similar names

Similar names in various languages include:^[5]

• Albanian: Dasha, Vasha
• Bosnian: Safiha, Sabiha
• Croatian: Saša
• 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, Dasha, Masha, Natasha, Pasha, Sashka, Tasha, Yasha
• Serbian: Saša
• Slovenian: Saša
• Spanish: Sancha
• Swedish: Sassa
• Swiss: Sascha
• Turkish: Saliha, Sabiha

See also

• Sasha (disambiguation)
• Satyana

References