Sasha is a unisex name which originated among Slavic peoples from Eastern and Southern Europe^{[citation needed]} as the shortened version of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also used as a surname, although very rarely. Alternative spellings include: Саша (Sasha – Belarusian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Ukrainian), Сашо (Sasho – Bulgarian), Саше (Sashe – Macedonian), Saša (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Latvian, Lithuanian), Sasza (Polish), Sașa (Romanian), Sacha (French), Sascha (German), Sascia (Italian^[1]), Sasja (Danish and Swedish) and סשה (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]}

In Italy or in French-speaking regions (Belgium, France,^[2] and Quebec^[3]), Sacha is more often given to males.^[4] 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.^[5]

Notable people bearing this name

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, Beyoncé's alter ego
• Sasha Velour (born 1987), famous drag queen best known for appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9)

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 (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
• 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

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:^[6]

• 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