[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone
Is [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] ever used in Poland as a short version of [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f]? I know it is used in Russian. I live in South [name_f]Africa[/name_f] and I am worried that people here won’t know that there is a link and they will think that my daughter has two different names…
I don’t know, but I would imagine so. I know a [name_f]Barbara[/name_f] that goes by [name_f]Basha[/name_f], it is a very common form of nickname.
[name_f]Every[/name_f] [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f] I know goes by [name_f]Ola[/name_f]. I don’t think [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] (or Sasza) is unheard of, but people would rather think of it as a (male) Russian name. Some would know that’s a diminutive of Aleksander/[name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f], some would not. It’s just not used by Poles themselves.
Btw, in Poland, “[name_f]Basha[/name_f]” is written as [name_f]Basia[/name_f] (which is also pronounced much softer). There are no nicknames that end in “sha” (or rather “sza”), but there are plenty of “-sia” diminutives, like [name_f]Asia[/name_f], [name_f]Kasia[/name_f], [name_f]Zosia[/name_f]…
Like ariadna said, the common Polish nickname for [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f] is [name_f]Ola[/name_f]. However, the spelling [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f] is also sometimes used when transcribing Russian names from the original Cyrillic alphabet to the English alphabet, so if that’s what is bothering you, then I wouldn’t worry about, especially since you’re living in South [name_f]Africa[/name_f] anyway. [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f], nn [name_u]Sasha[/name_u], is perfectly legit in Russian.