Misha is a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of the Russian name Mikhail (Михаил). A hypocoristic of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, its English-language equivalent would be

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

. Sometimes it is used as a female name, mostly by non-Russians; the feminine Russian name Mikhaila exists but is rare. The spelling Mischa also exists, originating from German. Notable people and characters with the name include:

People

Misha Alperin Michail Jefimowitsch Alperin (Ukrainian: Миха́йло Юхи́мович Альпе́рін; 7 November 1956 – 11 May 2018) was a Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist, known as a key member of the Moscow Art Trio. AllMusic.com Biography Alperin ...

, Ukrainian jazz musician * Misha B (born 1992), British singer and X Factor 2011 finalist *

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

(born 1948), nicknamed "Misha", Russian dancer, choreographer and actor * Sir Misha Black (1910–1977), British architect *

Misha Calvin Misha Nisić, better known as Misha Calvin, is a Serbian rock guitarist and songwriter. Life and career A native of Yugoslavia, Calvin arrived in London sometime in the mid 80s. He worked with ex-Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin and Elegy vocal ...

, Serbian rock guitarist * Misha Cirkunov (born 1987), Latvian-Canadian mixed martial artist * Misha Collins (born 1974), American actor *

Misha Dichter Misha Dichter (born September 27, 1945) is an American pianist. Biography Misha Dichter was born in Shanghai to Polish-Jewish parents who fled during WWII. He moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, at the age of two and began studying p ...

(born 1945), American pianist * Misha Glenny (born 1958), British journalist *

Misha Kilmer Misha Elena Kilmer is an American applied mathematician known for her work in numerical linear algebra and scientific computing. She is William Walker Professor of Mathematics at Tufts University. Starting July 1, 2021, she will serve as Deputy Dir ...

, American mathematician * Misha Mansoor (born 1984), guitarist of progressive metal band Periphery * Misha Mengelberg (1935–2017), Dutch jazz pianist *

Misha Reznikoff Misha Reznikoff was an American-Ukrainian artist noted for such pictures as ''The End of the Horse – Or New Deal'' (1934) and ''The Solidity of the Road to Metaphor and Memory'' (1935).Smithsonian American Art Museum http://americanart.si.edu/s ...

(1905–1971), American-Ukrainian artist * Mikheil Saakashvili (born 1967), nicknamed "Misha", former President of Georgia *

Misha Segal Misha Segal is an Israeli people, Israeli music producer and film composer. He studied music, film, and philosophy at Tel Aviv University and apprenticed under Dieter Schöhnbach in Germany. Segal also studied composition and conducting at the G ...

(born 1943), Israeli film producer and composer *

Misha Verbitsky Misha Verbitsky (russian: link=no, Ми́ша Верби́цкий, born June 20, 1969 in Moscow) is a Russian mathematician. He works at the Instituto Nacional de Matemática Pura e Aplicada in Rio de Janeiro. He is primarily known to the gener ...

(born 1969), Russian mathematician * Misha (singer) (born 1975), Slovak R&B musician * Misha Zilberman (born 1989), Israeli Olympic badminton player

Characters

Misha Misha (russian: Миша), also known as Mishka (russian: Мишка) or The Olympic Mishka (russian: Олимпийский Мишка), is the name of the Russian Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (the XXII Summer Olympics). He wa ...

, the mascot of the 1980 Olympic Games * Misha (''Pita-ten''), a character from the anime and manga ''Pita-ten'' * Misha Arsellec Lune, a character in the PlayStation 2 game ''Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia'' * Misha, a character from the visual novel '' Katawa Shoujo'' * Misha Milanich, a character from the video game series ''

Mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

'' * Misha, a penguin from Andrey Kurkov's books ''

Death and the Penguin ''Death and the Penguin'' is a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in 1996 in Russian (as ''Смерть постороннего'', ''Smert' postoronnego''), it was translated and published in English in 2001. The e ...

'' and ''

Penguin Lost ''Penguin Lost'' is a novel by Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in 2005 in Russian (as ''Закон улитки'', en, The Snail Law), it was translated by George Bird and published in English in 2010. It is the sequel to the author's novel ...

'' * Misha Milgrom, the main character of the book '' Milkweed'' by

Jerry Spinelli Jerry Spinelli (born February 1, 1941) is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include ''Maniac Magee'', '' Stargirl'', and ''Wringer''. Life Spinelli was born in Norristown, Penn ...

* Misha Miramond, a female character from the anime series '' Transformers: Energon''

References

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People

Characters

See also

References