Sasha (name)

Sasha
Pronunciation	/ˈsæʃə/ SASH-ə /ˈsɑːʃə/ SAH-shə
Gender	unisex
Origin
Word/Name	Slavic/Greek
Meaning	defender, helper of mankind
Other names
Related names	Aleksandra, Aleksander, Saša, Sascha, Sacha, Sasza, Satyana

Sasha is a unisex given name. It originated in countries of Central, 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: Саша (Russian), Саше (Macedonian), Saša (Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Lithuanian), 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.^{[citation needed]}

In other countries, it is given predominantly to females. 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 male Jews 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 immigration from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and the larger wave of the 1990s.

Notable bearers of this name

• Saša Antunović, Serbian footballer
• Sasha Argov (1914–95), Russian-born Israeli composer
• Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971), British actor and comedian of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno fame
• Sacha Dean Biyan, noted American fashion photographer
• Saša Bjelanović, Croatian football player
• Saša Bogunović, Serbian football player
• Saša Cilinšek, Serbian football player
• Sasha Chorny, Russian poet
• Saša Ćirić, a football player from the Republic of Macedonia of Serbian origin
• Saša Ćurčić, a Serbian former football midfielder.
• Sacha Distel, French singer
• Saša Đorđević (born 1967), Serbian basketball player and coach
• Saša Đorđević (footballer) (born 1981), Serbian footballer
• Saša Dragičević, Bosnian footballer
• Saša Dragin, Minister in Serbia
• Saša Drakulić, Serbian footballer
• Sasha Gabor, Norwegian pornographic actor
• Saša Gajser, Slovenian footballer
• Saša Gedeon, Czech director
• 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 Lošić, Yugoslavian composer
• Saša Kajkut, a Bosnian football player
• Sasha Kaun (born 1985), Russian basketball player
• Sacha Kljestan, American footballer playing for Anderlecht
• Saša Knežević, Serbian model
• Saša Kocić, a Serbian fooballer player
• Sasha Kolpakov, Russian musician
• Sascha Konietzko, German musician, founder/frontman of Industrial band KMFDM
• Saša Kovačević, a Serbian international footballer
• Saša Lozar, Croatian pop singer of the former boy band Saša, Tin i Kedžo
• Saša Matić, Bosnian Serb singer
• Sasha Mitchell, American actor, famous for his role in the TV series Step By Step
• Saša Obradović, Serbian basketball player
• Saša Papac, a Bosnia and Herzegovina association footballer
• Sasha Pavlović, professional basketball (NBA) player
• Saša Peršon, Croatian footballer
• Saša Petričić (born 1963), Serbian Canadian journalist
• Sascha Radetsky, American ballet dancer and actor
• Saša Radivojević, a Serbian football goalkeeper
• Saša Ranić, Slovenian footballer
• Sasha Roiz, Canadian actor
• Sacha Sacket, Singer-Songwriter from California
• Sascha Schmitz, German singer
• Saša Simonović, a Serbia footballer
• Sasha Skenderija, Bosnian-American poet
• Saša Stamenković, a Serbian football goalkeeper
• Saša Todić, a Serbian football goalkeeper
• Saša Toperić, Bosnian Israeli concert pianist
• Saša Vasiljević, Bosnian basketball player
• Saša Viciknez, a Serbian footballer
• Sasha Victorine (born 1978), American football player
• Saša Vlaisavljević, a Serbian engineer, business executive, and politician
• Sasha Vujačić (born 1984), Slovenian basketball player
• Saša Živec (born 1991), Slovenian footballer
• Sasha (espionage), an alleged Soviet mole in the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
• Sasha (DJ), Welsh DJ (real name Alexander Coe)
• Sasha (deejay), Jamaican DJ

Female bearers Sasha

• Sasha Alexander, Serbian-American actress
• Sasha Allen, American singer and actress
• Sasha Andrews, Canadian football defender
• Sasha Artemev, American gymnast
• Sasha Barrese, American actress
• Sasha Cohen (born 1984), American Olympic figure skater
• Sasha Cooke, American mezzo-soprano singer
• Sasha Dobson, American jazz singer
• Sasha Eisenman, American photographer
• Sasha Emerson, American designer
• Sasha Grey, American pornographic actress
• Sasha Gulish, American photographer
• Sasha Higgins, American actress
• Sasha Lazard
• Sasha Masakowski, American jazz musician
• Sasha Montenegro, Mexican actress
• Sasha Pieterse, American actress
• Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model
• Sasha Sökol, Mexican actress and singer
• Sasha Spielber, American actress
• Sasha Volkova, Russian model
• Sasha Williams, Canadian actress

Fictional Sashas

• Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé Knowles's alter ego
• Saša Bůčková, character from Czech sitcom Comeback
• Sascha Petrosevitch, a character from the 2002 film Half Past Dead
• Sasha Barbicon, the owner of an art gallery from the game Titanic: Adventure Out of Time
• Sasha Belov, a character from the TV show Make It or Break It
• Sasha Bordeaux, a DC Comics character, former ally of Batman
• Sasha La Fleur, a character from the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
• Sasha Nein, a powerful psychonaut and instructor from the game Psychonauts
• Sasha Thompson, leader of the Mad Dogs and a target in CHERUB book Mad Dogs
• Sasha, a character from Adult Swim's Titan Maximum
• Sasha, a character from the 2009 film The Last Station
• Sasha, a commanding officer from the game Advance Wars: Dual Strike
• Sasha, a 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, see List of Warriors characters outside Clans#Sasha
• 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 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)
• Sacha, a desman (water mole) in the animated television program Noah's Island

Mythical

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

Other

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

See also

• Sasha
• Satyana

References

• The Name Machine
• Behind the Name
• More info on Think Baby Names
• WikiName - All About Names