Sasha (name)

{{redirect|Sacha|the Central Asian people|Saka|the Siberian people|Yakuts}}

{{Infobox given name

| name = Sasha

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|ʃ|ə}} {{respell|SASH|ə}}
{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɑː|ʃ|ə}} {{respell|SAH|shə}}

| gender = Unisex | meaning =defender, helper of mankind

| region =

| origin = Slavic{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

| related names = Alexandra, Alexander, Aleksandr(a), Aleksandar, Aleksaša, Saša, Sašura, Šurik, Sandy, Sascha, Sacha, Sash, Sasho, Sasza, Sachie, Sacheverell, Oleksandr(a)

| footnotes =

|wikt =

}}

Sasha is a name which originated among Slavic peoples from Eastern and Southern Europe{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} as the shortened version of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also used as a surname, although very rarely. Alternative spellings include: {{lang|ru|Саша}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Sasha}} – Belarusian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Ukrainian), {{lang|bg|Сашо}} ({{lang|bg-Latn|Sasho}} – Bulgarian), {{lang|mk|Саше}} ({{lang|mk-Latn|Sashe}} – Macedonian), {{lang|sl|Saša|italic=no}} (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian), {{lang|pl|Sasza|italic=no}} (Polish), {{lang|ro|Sașa|italic=no}} (Romanian), {{lang|fr|Sacha|italic=no}} (French), {{lang|de|Sascha|italic=no}} (German), {{lang|it|Sascia|italic=no}} (ItalianSergio Lepri, Manuale di linguaggio e di stile, chapter [http://www.sergiolepri.it/documenti/stylebook-nomipropri.pdf Nomi propri e di luogo]), {{lang|nl|Sasja|italic=no}} (Danish and Swedish) and {{lang|he|סשה}} ({{lang|mk-Latn|Sasha}} – Hebrew).

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 Belarus, 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, North Macedonia and Switzerland. {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

In Italy or in French-speaking regions (Belgium, France,{{cite web|url=http://www.behindthename.com/name/sacha/top/france?compare=sasha&type=sample|title=Sasha|website=Behind the Name}} and Quebec{{cite web|url=http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/enfants/banque_prenoms/Pages/recherche_par_prenoms.aspx?SexRec=FM&PreRec=SACHA|title=Sacha|website=rrq.gouv.qc.ca}}), Sacha is more often given to males.{{cite web|title=Sasha| url=http://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/enfants/banque_prenoms/Pages/recherche_par_prenoms.aspx?SexRec=FM&PreRec=SASHA |website=rrq.gouv.qc.ca}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/popularnames.cgi|title=Popular Names|website=Social Security Administration|location=USA}}

Notable people bearing this name

Full Name	First Name Spelling	Surname	Years	Notability
class="wikitable sortable"
\| Sasha Alexander	Sasha	Alexander	1973–	American actress
\| Sasha Allen	Sasha	Allen	1982–	American singer and actress
\| Sasha Andrews	Sasha	Andrews	1983–	Canadian football defender
\| Saša Antunović	Saša	Antunović	1974–	Serbian footballer
\| Sasha Argov	Sasha	Argov	1914–1995	Russian-born Israeli composer
\| Sasha Artemev	Sasha	Artemev	1985–	American gymnast
\| Sasha Banks	Sasha	Banks	1992–	American wrestler (WWE)
\| Sacha Baron Cohen	Sacha	Baron Cohen	1971–	English actor and comedian of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno fame
\| Aleksander Sasha Barkov	Sasha	Barkov	1995–	Finnish hockey player
\| Sasha Barrese	Sasha	Barrese	1981–	American actress
\| Sacha Bennett	Sacha	Bennett	1971–	English Film-maker
Sascha Bilay \|Sascha \|Bilay \|1979– \|German politician
\| Saša Bjelanović	Saša	Bjelanović	1979–	Croatian football player
\| Saša Bogunović	Saša	Bogunović	1982–	Serbian football player
\| Sacha Boisvert	Sacha	Boisvert	2006–	Canadian ice hockey player
\| Sasha Calle	Sasha	Calle	1995-	American actress
\| Sasha Chorny	Sasha	Chorny	1880–1932	Russian poet
\| Saša Cilinšek	Saša	Cilinšek	1982–	Serbian football player
\| Saša Ćirić	Saša	Ćirić	1968–	Football player from the Republic of Macedonia, of Serbian origin
\| Sasha Cohen	Sasha	Cohen	1984–	American Olympic figure skater
\| Sasha Cooke	Sasha	Cooke		American mezzo-soprano
\| Saša Ćurčić	Saša	Ćurčić	1972–	Serbian former football midfielder
\| Sasha De Sola	Sasha	De Sola	1988–	American ballet dancer
\| Sacha Dhawan	Sacha	Dhawan	1984–	English actor
\| Sascha Dikiciyan	Sascha	Dikiciyan	1970–	German musician, known as Sonic Mayhem
\| Sacha Distel	Sacha	Distel	1933–2004	French singer
\| Sasha Dobson	Sasha	Dobson	1979–	American jazz singer
\| Saša Đorđević	Saša	Đorđević	1981–	Serbian footballer
\| Saša Đorđević	Aleksandar Saša	Đorđević	1967–	Serbian basketball player and coach
\| Saša Dragin	Saša	Dragin	1972–	Minister in Serbia
\| Saša Drakulić	Saša	Drakulić	1972–	Serbian footballer
\| Sasha Farber	Sasha	Farber	1984–	Soviet-born Australian-American dancer
\| Sacha Fenestraz	Sacha	Fenestraz	1999–	French racing driver
\| Sasha Filipenko	Sasha	Filipenko	1984–	Belarusian writer
\| Sasha Gabor	Sasha	Gabor	1945–2008	Norwegian pornographic film director and actor
\| Saša Gajser	Saša	Gajser	1974–	Slovenian footballer
\| Saša Gedeon	Saša	Gedeon	1970–	Czech director
\| Sascha Gerstner	Sascha	Gerstner	1977–	Guitarist of the power metal band Helloween
\| Sasha Gollish	Sasha	Gollish	1981–	Canadian competitive runner
\| Sasha Gradiva	Sasha	Gradiva	1979–	Russian singer
\| Sasha Grey	Sasha	Grey	1988–	American pornographic actress
\| Sacha Guitry	Sacha	Guitry	1885–1957	French actor and playwright
\| Sascha Hehn	Sascha	Hehn	1954–	German actor
\| Sasha Hostyn	Sasha	Hostyn	1993–	Canadian professional video game player
\| Saša Ilić	Saša	Ilić	1970–	Macedonian football goalkeeper
\| Saša Ilić	Saša	Ilić	1972–	Serbian-Australian football goalkeeper
\| Saša Ilić	Saša	Ilić	1977–	Serbian football midfielder
\| Saša Imprić	Saša	Imprić	1986–	Croatian swimmer
\| Sasha Issenberg	Sasha	Issenberg		American journalist
\| Saša Ivanović	Saša	Ivanović	1984–	Montenegrin football goalkeeper
\| Saša Kajkut	Saša	Kajkut	1984–	Bosnian football player
\| Sasha Kaun	Sasha	Kaun	1985–	Russian basketball player
\| Sacha Killeya-Jones	Sacha	Killeya-Jones	1998–	American-English basketball player for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
\| Sascha Kindred	Sascha	Kindred	1977–	English Paralympic swimmer
\| Sacha Kljestan	Sacha	Kljestan	1985–	American footballer
\| Sascha Klein	Sascha	Klein	1985–	German Olympic diver
\| Saša Kocić	Saša	Kocić	1976–	Serbian football player
\| Alexander Kolowrat	Alexander "Sascha"	Kolowrat	1886–1927	American-born Austrian film producer of Bohemian (Czech) descent
\| Sasha Kolpakov	Sasha	Kolpakov	1943–	Russian musician
\| Sascha Konietzko	Sascha	Konietzko	1961–	German musician, founder/frontman of Industrial band KMFDM
\| Saša Kovačević (footballer)	Saša	Kovačević	1973–	Serbian international footballer
\| Sasha Kropotkin	Sasha	Kropotkin	1887–1966	Russian-American émigré and writer
\| Sasha Lane	Sasha	Lane	1995–	American actress
\| Sasha Lazard	Sasha	Lazard		American singer
\| Saša Lošić	Saša	Lošić	1964–	Yugoslavian composer
\| Saša Lozar	Saša	Lozar	1980–	Croatian pop singer of the former boy band Saša, Tin i Kedžo
\| Sasha Luss	Sasha	Luss	1992–	Russian model and actress
\| Sasha Mäkilä	Sasha	Mäkilä	1973–	Finnish conductor and musician
\| Saša Matić	Saša	Matić	1978–	Bosnian Serb singer
Sacha McMeeking	Sacha	McMeeking	1978/9–	New Zealand academic, lawyer and activist
\| Sasha Meneghel	Sasha	Meneghel	1998–	Model, actress and volleyball player
\| Sasha Mitchell	Sasha	Mitchell	1967–	American actor, famous for his role in the TV series Step By Step
\| Sasha Montenegro	Sasha	Montenegro	1946–	Mexican actress
\| Sasha Obama	Sasha	Obama	2001–	The younger daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama
\| Saša Obradović	Saša	Obradović	1969–	Serbian basketball player
\| Sasha P	Sasha	P	1983–	Nigerian musician (real name Anthonia Yetunde Alabi)
\| Saša Papac	Saša	Papac	1980–	Bosnia and Herzegovina association footballer
\| Sacha Parkinson	Sacha	Parkinson	1992–	English actress
\| Sasha Pavlović	Sasha	Pavlović	1983–	NBA basketball player
\| Saša Peršon	Saša	Peršon	1965–	Croatian footballer
\| Saša Petričić	Saša	Petričić	1963–	Serbian Canadian journalist
\| Sasha Pieterse	Sasha	Pieterse	1996–	American actress
\| Sasha Pivovarova	Sasha	Pivovarova	1985–	Russian model
\| Sascha Pohflepp	Sascha	Pohflepp	1978–2019	German artist and writer
\| Sascha Radetsky	Sascha	Radetsky	1977–	American ballet dancer and actor
\| Saša Radivojević	Saša	Radivojević	1979–	Serbian football goalkeeper
\| Saša Rakezić	Saša	Rakezić	1963–	Serbian cartoonist
\| Saša Ranić	Saša	Ranić	1981–	Slovenian footballer
\| Sascha Riether	Sascha	Riether	1983–	German footballer
\| Sasha Roiz	Sasha	Roiz	1973–	Canadian actor
\| Sacha Sacket	Sacha	Sacket	1978–	Singer-songwriter from California
\| Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin	Alexander "Sasha"	Shulgin	1925–2014	American chemist
\| Sascha Scheleter	Sascha	Schleter	1985–	German bobsledder
\| Saša Simonović	Saša	Simonović	1975–	Serbian footballer
\| Sasha Skenderija	Sasha	Skenderija	1968–	Bosnian-American poet
\| Sasha Sökol	Sasha	Sökol	1970–	Mexican actress and singer
\| Saša Stamenković	Saša	Stamenković	1985–	Serbian football goalkeeper
\| Sasha Tirupati	Sasha	Tirupati	1989–	Indian-Canadian singer
\| Saša Todić	Saša	Todić	1974–	Serbian football goalkeeper
\| Saša Toperić	Saša	Toperić	1972–	Bosnian Israeli concert pianist
\| Sacha Alexandre Trudeau	"Sacha" Alexandre	Trudeau	1973–	Canadian filmmaker and journalist, son of Pierre Trudeau
\| Sacha Visagie	Sacha	Visagie	–	Canadian singer and songwriter
\| Saša Vasiljević	Saša	Vasiljević	1979–	Bosnian basketball player
\| Saša Viciknez	Saša	Viciknez	1974–	Serbian footballer
\| Sasha Victorine	Sasha	Victorine	1978–	American football player
\| Saša Vlaisavljević	Saša	Vlaisavljević	1968–	Serbian engineer, business executive, and politician
\| Sasha Vujačić	Sasha	Vujačić	1984–	Slovenian basketball player
\| Sasha Williams	Sasha	Williams	1982–	Canadian actress
\| Saša Živec	Saša	Živec	1991–	Slovenian footballer
\| Sascha Zverev	Alexander "Sascha"	Zverev	1997–	German tennis player
Sasha Hakhu \|Sasha \|Hakhu \| \|

=Codenames, stage personas, and alter egos =

Sasha (espionage), an alleged Soviet mole in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe
Sasha (Jamaican musician) (born 1974), born Christine Chin
Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sascha Schmitz
Sasha Banks (born 1992), American professional wrestler
Sasha Fierce, the alter ego of Beyoncé (born 1981)
Sasha Alex Sloan (born 1995), born Alexandra Artourovna Yatchenko
Sasha Velour (born 1987), famous drag queen best known for appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9); born Alexander Hedges Steinberg

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, a rabbit villager in the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons

=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
Saša Bůčková, character from Czech sitcom Comeback
Sasha Dixon, character in the British soap opera EastEnders
Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell, the protagonist of The Qwaser of Stigmata
Sasha James, a character from the horror podcast "The Magnus Archives"
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 British medical drama series Holby City
Sasha Nein, powerful Psychonaut and instructor from the game Psychonauts
Sasha Perkins, character in the British soap opera 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 Valentine, character in the British soap opera Hollyoaks
Sasha Waybright, from the American animated series Amphibia
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
Sasha, an adolescent schoolgirl from the 2023 Barbie movie
Sascha … ein aufrechter Deutscher, subject and title of a Tote Hosen song

=Inanimate objects=

Sasha is the name Heavy gives to his minigun in the game Team Fortress 2.
The singer Lizzo named her flute Sasha.

Similar names

Similar names in various languages include:[http://namepedia.org/en/firstname/Sasha_(8476)/ First name Sasha – NamepediA], data page about the name Sasha