# How did Sasha come to be a diminutive for Alexander? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075 "2011-03-17T22:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/1 "2011-03-17T22:17:55Z")
The question’s in the title. All the other diminutives I can think of are at least a little bit similar to the original name, but this seems to be out of left field. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/2 "2011-03-17T22:39:28Z")
it is from the sandr part of aleksandr. the sa of sandr with the sha diminutive gives you sasha. kinda like some alexanders get called sandy instead of alex. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/3 "2011-03-17T22:57:27Z")
Is that a common method of forming diminutives in some languages? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/4 "2011-03-17T23:02:04Z")
-sha as a diminutive is certainly common in Russian, which is also I think where “Sasha” comes from. Russian seems to have a lot of diminutive forms, and I understand it’s usual for a person to go by many different nicknames with different friends. The Russian students I’ve met here all seem to be a bit bemused by the fact that everyone they meet calls them by the form with which they introduce themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/5 "2011-03-17T23:02:35Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Is that a common method of forming diminutives in some languages? Russian, I believe. It’s more complicated than that, but there are a lot of Russian nicknames formed in that general way - Ivan becomes Vanya, Alexander becomes Sanya or Sasha, etc. Also, while there are other spelling variants of Alexander in various languages which make Sasha a little more obvious, it’s not the strangest one out there - a common example is Daisy for Margaret. The flower that we know of as a Daisy is called a Marguerite (spelling?) in France, and so even though Marguerite and Margaret aren’t precisely the same name, Daisy for Margaret ended up as quite a popular diminutive for a while. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/6 "2011-03-17T23:03:27Z")
in russian, yeah. you take a few letters and add a diminutive ending. the ending is by gender and familiarity. the common niks for alexander in russian are: alek or sasha. micheal is misha, take the mi add the sha. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/7 "2011-03-17T23:25:45Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Is that a common method of forming diminutives in some languages? It’s just the same in English: take the “sand” part of Alexander (or Alexandra) and add the diminutive -y ending to get the nickname Sandy. Did you know that Peggy is a diminutive of Margaret? Fun, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/8 "2011-03-17T23:58:38Z")
> [@](#): > > micheal is misha, take the mi add the sha. There’s also “Masha” for “Maria”. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/9 "2011-03-18T01:26:12Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > in russian, yeah. you take a few letters and add a diminutive ending. the ending is by gender and familiarity. > > the common niks for alexander in russian are: alek or sasha. > > micheal is misha, take the mi add the sha. My Ukranian ex pa in law called his son Michael Mahashku. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/10 "2011-03-18T01:28:35Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > All the other diminutives I can think of are at least a little bit similar to the original name, but this seems to be out of left field. There’s also “Richard” and “Dick.” ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/11 "2011-03-18T01:47:53Z")
I think Polly was a nickname for Mary at one time. As Sally was for Sarah. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/12 "2011-03-18T02:27:10Z")
It seems a large part of the western world was named after Alexander The Great. The names Saunders and Sanders both come from it. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/13 "2011-03-18T02:55:01Z")
Huh, I didn’t know that. This can be my thing to learn for today. Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/14 "2011-03-18T03:06:24Z")
Reading Chekhov without understanding a bit of the russian diminutive process can be confusing. I remember throwing The Cherry Orchard across the room crying that every character had three names and no one was referred to by the name in the character list. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/15 "2011-03-18T03:09:20Z")
The President’s daughter Sasha is simply named that - it’s not a diminutive for Alexandra, in her case, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/16 "2011-03-18T03:15:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s also “Masha” for “Maria”. The ending (spelled a little differently, but pronounced the same) is common in Polish for feminine names. Marya -\> Marysia or Masia “Marisha/Masha” (Mary) Małgorzata -\> Małgosia/Gosia “Mao-gosha/Gosha” (Margaret) Katarzyna -\> Kasia “Kasha” (Catherine) Barbara -\> Basia “Basha” (Barbara) Dorota or Teodozja -\> Dosia “Dosha” (Dorothy or Theodora) etc… ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/17 "2011-03-18T03:36:48Z")
[Slavic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languages), not “Russian”. People from what used to be Yugoslavia, for instance, aren’t Russians and don’t speak Russian, but they _do_ use the same diminutives in their names, and someone called “Sasha” is just as likely to be Serbo-Croatian as Russian. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/18 "2011-03-18T05:35:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Marya -\> Marysia or Masia “Marisha/Masha” (Mary) Little slip of the keyboard there. I meant to type “Maria” for “Marya,” although the latter is an older Polish spelling of the name, as is “Marja,” so far as I understand. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/19 "2011-03-18T07:34:17Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Huh, I didn’t know that. This can be my thing to learn for today. Thanks. 🙂 I had never heard this before either. Finally explains why Sasha Baron Cohen has a girl’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/20 "2011-03-18T10:31:35Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I had never heard this before either. Finally explains why Sasha Baron Cohen has a girl’s name. Next you’ll be telling us that Nikita is a girl’s name. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075.md?page=2)