# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/21 "2011-03-18T10:55:02Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > My Ukranian ex pa in law called his son Michael Mahashku. And Ukrainians speak Ukrainian, a quite different language from Russian. As any Ukrainian will be at great pains to make clear to you, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/22 "2011-03-18T11:06:50Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > 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. The other one is fun. The Chekhov play known in Russian as Дядя Ваня (transliterated Dyadya Vanya) is usually half-translated (since Dyadya carries a ‘father’ connotation) as “Uncle Vanya.” But to be consistent you should probably translate nickname as well as relational title, and render it “Uncle Johnny.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/23 "2011-03-18T11:10:38Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > Next you’ll be telling us that Nikita is a girl’s name. Nope. (You do know about Sir Elton, dontcha? ;)) Except for the late premier Khrushchev and one actor/model who apparently were actually named ‘Nikita’ at birth, it’s a diminutive for Nikolai. ---
**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, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/24 "2011-03-18T14:43:33Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > [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. Sure, but it doesn’t work in Polish for male names, so you can’t quite extend that to Slavic languages as a rule. In Polish, the male diminutive is usually “-ek” or “-uś” (or even both as “–uśek”). Female names get the “-sia/cia/dzia/nia” and “-ka” endings (I may be missing one in there.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/25 "2011-03-18T14:48:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > The President’s daughter Sasha is simply named that - it’s not a diminutive for Alexandra, in her case, IIRC. [Nope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Barack_Obama#Immediate_family). It’s a diminiutive for Natasha. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/26 "2011-03-18T15:17:41Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > 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. There are plenty of diminutives in the Anglo-American tradition that are quite distant from the original – Peggy (Margaret), Polly (Mary), Betsy (Elizabeth), Hank (John or Henry), Sandy (Alexander), Dicky (Richard), Bobby/Dobby/Hobby/Nobby (Robert) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/27 "2011-03-18T15:25:05Z")
I’ve never understood how Edward got to be both “Ted” and “Ned.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/28 "2011-03-18T15:30:47Z")
Those fit right in with the other examples I gave, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/29 "2011-03-18T17:15:33Z")
Ditto Jack and John. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/30 "2011-03-18T17:49:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > It’s a diminiutive for Natasha. Which, in itself, is a diminutive for Natalya. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/31 "2011-03-18T18:19:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’ve never understood how Edward got to be both “Ted” and “Ned.” It’s common (for some reason) to change or add a first letter to a name. Edward-\>Ed-\>Ted/Ned William-\>Will-\>Bill Richard-\>Rick-\>Dick And in the “last half + diminutive” family, we have: Anthony-\>Tony ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/32 "2011-03-18T18:19:27Z")
Slight hijack, I was very surprised to discover that “Dot” is short for “Dorothy” and not Princess Angelica Francesca Banana Nana Bo Besca III. 😛 ---
**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, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/33 "2011-03-18T18:33:25Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Nope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_of_Barack_Obama#Immediate_family). It’s a diminiutive for Natasha. Thanks, but the Wiki article cites to an NBC News report that says nothing about her full name actually being Natasha. I’ve read elsewhere - can’t remember where, but it seemed reliable at the time - that her given name is simply Sasha. ---
**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, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/34 "2011-03-18T18:34:26Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Nope. (You do know about Sir Elton, dontcha? ;)) Except for the late premier Khrushchev and one actor/model who apparently were actually named ‘Nikita’ at birth, it’s a diminutive for Nikolai. Maybe he was thinking of this: [La Femme Nikita - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_femme_nikita) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075/35 "2011-03-18T18:38:04Z")
Then there’s Margaret \> Peg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-sasha-come-to-be-a-diminutive-for-alexander/575075.md?page=1)