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Comment by dlcarrier | Hacker News Reader

    I think that the most common Russian male name is Sasha (Alexandr)…

What is the relationship between the two names? I've known multiple people named Alex, but never met a Sasha in person. Is Alex/Alexander a nickname for Sasha, like Chuy is for Jesús, in Mexico?

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> Is Alex/Alexander a nickname for Sasha

it's the other way around: "Alexandr" is the "canonical" name, and "Sasha" is a shorter version of it

In Russian some names can be used with "sha" suffix that makes the name sound "softer": in many cases it's how parents call their kids.

Mikhail -> Misha; Mariya -> Masha; Alexandr(Male) or Alexandra(Female) -> Alexasha -> Sasha

Sasha is a familiar version of Alexander. Like Ben for Benjamin, Pete for Peter, Ash for Ashley, etc. Its etymology is just a bit less straight-forward.

Alex to me has always been short for Alexey, not Alexander. The fact that Alex is short for Alexander is very confusing.

Sasha/shura/shurik vs Alex/alyosha.

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