The name Sascha is of German origin and means "defender of man." It is a variant spelling of the name Alexander, which itself means "defender of mankind" or "helper of mankind." The name Sascha has been used in Germany for centuries and was popularized outside of Germany by famous people such as the Russian-born ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, who went by the nickname Sascha. Today, Sascha is still a popular given name in German-speaking countries and has also gained popularity in other parts of Europe and beyond. Despite its gender-neutral nature, Sascha is more commonly used for boys than girls.
The name Sascha experienced varied popularity over the decades with peaks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, again in the mid-2000s to early 2010s, and most recently in 2021. However, it has generally been more common among males than females throughout this period.