Natasha with the nickname Sasha?

[neolara]

I posted months ago because I couldn't decide whether I liked Natasha or Sasha more. The baby is now here and I still can't decide - I like them both. We're now considering covering all bases and calling her Natasha, but using Sasha as a nickname.

But part of me thinks this is just a silly compromise. We already have one dc who is formally called something with a nickname that is completely different.

Oh, and just to throw in a complication, we recently thought of Imogen which we both like and my other thread has thrown up some possible shortenings that I quite like too.

Aaaagh! Surely it's not meant to be this difficult to decide.

Any thoughts?

Wouldn't Tasha be a short form of Natasha?

Sasha and Natasha are, technically and Slavonically, both nicknames. Sasha is usually a short form of Alexander/Alexandra and Natasha of Natalia/Natalya. So it seems bit odd to me. But I'm a name purist !

I have Russian friends who were Rofling at Sasha Obama's name...

Sasha is definately a boys' name - short for Alexander.

I get shortened to Tash or Nat. I doubt even if you used Sasha as a nn, that other people would follow suit.

Agree that Sasha is largely regarded as a boys name (but then, I'm originally from Germany, where it is ONLY a boys' name).

Natascha, on the other hand, is a lovely name!

For Russians Sasha could be a boy's or a girl's name, however in both cases it's a nickname. Needn't bother you if it isn't your culture.

Natasha sounds nice to me but has some connotations these days I wouldn't want -i.e. it can be slang for a prostitute in some countries in Europe.

oh great! my dearest brother always used to point out that it is Ah Satan backwards as well. But I'm dead normal, honestly [polishes pitchfork]

oh I believe you, backtracks hurredly ...

I still think it's a nice name personally

how odd

my dd is Sacha short for Alexandra
my bf is Natasha never Sasha

'rofling at sasha obama' how bizarre and culture-centric your friends are

Oh God, which European countries is Natasha a word for prostitute?

StripeyKnickers, it's a very common slang term;, there's even a book about east european sex slavery with that title, I believe. I have a lot of empathy with my Russian friends (they're straight from Russia, not second generation) because I've done a lot of tooth-grinding in the US at the treatment of Irish boys' names there. (Rory, Sean, etc. for girls).

Don't be put off, Natasha is a lovely name.

Short forms would be Tasha, Tash or Nat though IMO.

Thanks all for your imput. We've decided not to prevaricate with the Natasha / Sasha combo and have gone simply for Sasha.

I'd also understood that Sacha was a boys name in Russia, but I was reading an article about Gorbachev today in which he says his great grand-daughter is called Sasha.

Sasha is a great name in its own right.

Those Russian friends of math ROFL need some more explaining

I too associate Sasha with boys.... but that's because I had one in my class in the 70s.

Sacha/Sasha/Sascha are all derivatives of Alexander / Alexandra

Oddly we chose the boys spelling for DD as i thought it prettier and a bit more French

Since the rise of S Baron-Cohen the name is now more widely associated with boys

My Sacha has another in her class so it is not rare amongst girls

I'd name her Alexandra or Natascha on the birth certificate. Both are lovely, classic feminine names.
She's then got lots of nickname options, including Sacha, Sasha, Tash etc.

I too know both male and female Sashas.

I get shortened to Nat or Tasha. I refuse to answer to Tash though (reminds me of a moustache!)

My name is Natasha and everyone in my family calls me Sasha. This was because my parents wanted these names (one wanted Sasha, the other wanted Natasha). They decided they’d call me Sasha. However, none of my friends call me this, it’s only my family.
I don’t really have a nickname, but with a few of my friends instead of saying their full name I say the first three letters. Because of this I’ve been called Nat a few times, but I don’t think it suits me.

ZOMBIE thread.

Why on earth would you feel the need to bump a 14 year old thread?