Sasha is a
unisex name
A unisex name (also known as an epicene name, a gender-neutral name or an androgynous name) is a given name that is not gender-specific. Unisex names are common in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. By contrast, some c ...
which originated in Eastern and Southern European countries as the shortened version of
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
and
Alexandra. It is also used as a surname, although very rarely. Alternative spellings include: ( – Russian, Ukrainian, Serbo-Croatian), ( – Bulgarian), ( – Macedonian), (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian), (Polish), (Romanian), (French), (German), (Italian), (Danish and Swedish) and ( – 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 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
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and Switzerland.
In French-speaking regions (Belgium, France, and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
), Sacha is almost exclusively given to males. 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.
Notable people bearing this name
Codenames, stage personas, alter egos
*
Sasha (espionage) Sasha was an alleged Soviet mole in the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War.
Manhunt
In 1961, Anatoliy Golitsyn, a major in the KGB, was assigned to the embassy in Helsinki, Finland, under the name "Ivan Klimov." On 15 December, he ...
, an alleged Soviet mole in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War
*
Sasha (DJ)
Alexander Paul Coe (born 4 September 1969), known professionally as Sasha, is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and electronic music as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digwe ...
(born 1969), born Alexander Coe
*
Sasha (Jamaican musician)
Christine Chin (born 1974), better known by her stage names Sasha and Sista Sasha, is a Jamaican musician, deejay and dancehall recording artist, presently recording gospel music.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she was raised in Queens, New York ...
(born 1974), born Christine Chin
*
Sasha (German singer)
Sascha Röntgen (' Schmitz; born 5 January 1972), better known by his stage name Sasha, is a German singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is also known by his alter ego Dick Brave, and part of the group Dick Brave & the Backbeats. Due to ...
(born 1972), born Sascha Schmitz
*
Sasha Banks
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks.
Banks previously wrestled o ...
(born 1992), American professional wrestler
* Sasha Fierce,
Beyoncé's alter ego
*
Sasha Velour
Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...
(born 1987), famous drag queen best known for appearing on
''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (season 9)
Animals
*
Sasha (dog)
Sasha DM (2004–2008) was a Labrador Retriever who served as a bomb detection dog for the British Army whilst stationed in Afghanistan. Sasha and her handler, Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe, were killed in July 2008. Sasha was awarded the Dickin ...
(2004–2008), a
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
dog that served in the British Army
* ''
Galianora sacha
''Galianora sacha'' is a species of jumping spider (family Salticidae) from Ecuador.
This species is pale, elongate, long-legged and somewhat flattened. It superficially resembles the genera '' Itata'' or '' Helpis''. The first pair of legs is e ...
'' (''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
''Help! I'm A Fish'' ( da, Hjælp, jeg er en fisk; also known as ''A Fish Tale'') is a 2000 Danish-German-Irish traditionally animated science fantasy musical film directed by Stefan Fjeldmark, Greg Manwaring and Michael Hegner, and written by ...
''
* Sasha, bird character from Walt Disney's
''Peter and the Wolf'' (1946 film)
* Sasha, cat from the book series ''
Warriors
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
'' by Erin Hunter
* Sacha, desman (water mole) in the animated television program ''
Noah's Island
''Noah's Island'' is a British animated television series for children made by the creators of '' The Animals of Farthing Wood'' and commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union. It was directed by Emile Bourget, Philippe LeClerc, Alan Simpson ...
''
* Sasha La Fleur, a character from the movie ''
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
''All Dogs Go to Heaven 2'' is a 1996 American animated musical fantasy adventure film, and a sequel to Goldcrest Films' animated film '' All Dogs Go to Heaven'' (1989). Produced by MGM/UA Family Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation ...
'', the television series ''
All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series,'' and ''
An All Dogs Christmas Carol
''An All Dogs Christmas Carol'' is a 1998 American animated musical television special which was released as the direct-to-video film on November 17, 1998. To date, it is the final installment in the ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' film series and it al ...
''
* Sasha (Vampire), a
character from the Twilight book and film series
* Sasha, female character from the
Bratz
Bratz is an American fashion doll and media franchise created by former Mattel employee Carter Bryant for MGA Entertainment which debuted in 2001.
The four original 10-inch (25 cm) dolls were released on May 21, 2001 — Yasmin, Cloe, Jade ...
franchise
* Sasha Braus, female character from the
Attack on Titan series
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
''Make It or Break It'' ( ''MIOBI)'' is an American teen/family drama television series that focused on the lives of teen gymnasts who strived to make it to the Olympic Games in 2012. The series was inspired by Touchstone's 2006 teen comedy-dra ...
''
*
Sasha Bezmel
Sasha Bezmel is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Demi Harman. The actress relocated to Sydney from Brisbane for filming and she stated that winning the role was a dream come true. H ...
, character from the Australian soap opera ''
Home and Away''
*
Sash Bishop
''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera first broadcast on RTÉ One in 1989. The following is a list of characters who currently appear in the programme and a list of former characters, listed in order of first appearance. Some character ...
, character from the Irish soap opera ''Fair City''
*
Sasha Bordeaux
Sasha Bordeaux is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was at first primarily associated with superhero Batman, and she has subsequently evolved an association with Checkmate in two of its i ...
, 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 British soap opera ''
EastEnders''
* Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell, the protagonist of ''
The Qwaser of Stigmata
is a Japanese manga series authored by Hiroyuki Yoshino featuring art by Kenetsu Satō. The series is notable for its violence, fan service, and the use of vital energy coming from women's breasts (referred to as ''Soma'') as a central plo ...
''
* Sasha James, a character from the horror podcast "
The Magnus Archives
''The Magnus Archives'' is a horror fiction podcast written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall, and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrated the podcast in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly appointed Hea ...
"
* Sascha König, character from the television drama ''
Inspector Rex
''Inspector Rex'' (German: ''Kommissar Rex''; Italian: ''Il commissario Rex'') is an Austrian-Italian police procedural comedy-drama television series created by Peter Hajek and Peter Moser. Originally an Austrian series aired from 1994 to 2004 on ...
, episode 8x13''
* Sasha Kreutzev, character from the anime/novel series
A Certain Magical Index
is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004 in a total of three sepa ...
(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
''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platform video game developed by Double Fine Productions. The game was initially published by Majesco Entertainment and THQ for Microsoft Windows, Xbox and PlayStation 2. In 2011, Double Fine acquired the rights for t ...
''
*
Sasha Perkins
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' in 2003, by order of first appearance.
Eleanor Trueman
Eleanor "Ellie" Trueman (real name Amber) is the result of a one-night stand between Paul ...
, character in the British soap opera ''
EastEnders''
* Sascha Petrosevitch, character from the 2002 film ''
Half Past Dead
''Half Past Dead'' is a 2002 American action film written and directed by Don Michael Paul in his directorial debut, and produced by Steven Seagal, who also starred in the lead role, alongside Andrew Stevens and Elie Samaha. The film co-stars Mor ...
''
* Sasha Thompson, leader of the Mad Dogs and a target in CHERUB book ''
Mad Dogs''
*
Sasha Valentine
Sasha Valentine is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Nathalie Emmanuel. Sasha first appeared on-screen on 17 July 2006 as part of the newly introduced Valentine family. Sasha has been at the cen ...
, character in the British soap opera ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...
''
*
Sasha Waybright
The animated series ''Amphibia'' features a number of characters created by Matt Braly. The series centers on Anne Boonchuy who opens a mysterious music box that transports herself and her friends to the world of Amphibia. Anne is adopted by the ...
, from the American animated series ''
Amphibia
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbor ...
''
*
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
''Absolute Friends'' is an espionage novel by British writer John le Carré, published in December 2003.
Plot summary
The book tells the story of Ted Mundy, the Pakistan-born son of a British army officer, who as a student becomes proficient in t ...
'' (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
is a Japanese manga artist. She was born in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan and currently resides in Yokohama.
Selected works
''Rust Blaster'' is a 2006 six-chapter manga published by Square Enix in one volume. It tells the story of a hum ...
* Sasha, character from the ''Bratz'' line of fashion dolls, see
List of Bratz characters
''Bratz'' is an American fashion doll and media franchise by MGA Entertainment which debuted on May 12, 2001, with four characters; Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha and Jade, who would become the main franchise characters and have been produced for the major ...
* Sascha, the Russian bartender at Rick's Café Américain, played by
Leonid Kinskey
Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky.
Life and career
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
''The Last Station'' is a 2009 English-language German biographical drama film written and directed by Michael Hoffman, and based on Jay Parini's 1990 biographical novel of the same name, which chronicled the final months of Leo Tolstoy's life. ...
'' (2009)
* Sasha, the Muscovite princess in the novel ''
Orlando: A Biography'' by Virginia Woolf
* Sasha, the character from the Japanese manga ''
Pita-Ten
is a Japanese manga by Koge-Donbo. It was serialized in the shōnen manga magazine ''Dengeki Comic Gao!'' between the October 1999 and August 2003 issues and was later collected into eight tankōbon volumes. The eight volumes were localized f ...
''
* Sasha, the reincarnation of Athena in the manga ''
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas''
* Sasha, character from Adult Swim's ''
Titan Maximum
''Titan Maximum'' is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, from September 27 to November 22, 2009. A teaser ...
''
* Captain Sasha from the
Ratchet & Clank
''Ratchet & Clank'' is a series of action platformer and third-person shooter video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation ...
series
*
Sweet Sasha
Ty Girlz were girl dolls manufactured by Ty Inc. Similar to the Ty Beanie Babies, the Ty Girlz are on a limited release pattern with dolls being introduced and older ones retired at various times. Ty Girlz are plush toys that are connected to a ...
, a doll from ''
Ty Girlz
Ty Girlz were girl dolls manufactured by Ty Inc. Similar to the Ty Beanie Babies, the Ty Girlz are on a limited release pattern with dolls being introduced and older ones retired at various times. Ty Girlz are plush toys that are connected to a ...
''
* Sasha, a rabbit villager in the video game ''
Animal Crossing: New Horizons''
Inanimate objects
* Sasha is the name Heavy gives to his
minigun
The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an electric ...
in the game ''
Team Fortress 2
''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' mod for '' Quake'' and its 1999 remake, '' Team Fortress Classic''. The game was ...
''
Similar names
Similar names in various languages include:
First name Sasha – NamepediA
data page about the name Sasha
* Albanian: Dasha, Vasha
* Danish: Sasja
* Dutch: Saskia
* English: Sasha
* French: Sacha
* 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, Sashka
* Serbo-Croatian: Saša (Safiha / Sabiha in Bosnian)
* Slovak: Saša, Saška
* Slovenian: Saša
* Spanish: Sancha
* Swedish: Sassa
* Swiss: Sascha
* Thai: Sasicha
* Turkish: Saliha, Sabiha
See also
* Satyana
References
{{given name, Sasha, nocat
Slavic given names
Unisex given names
English-language unisex given names
Feminine given names
Masculine given names
English unisex given names
Russian masculine given names
German unisex given names