Misha

The reason why "Misha" is now considered a unisex name is because Westerners appropriated it as a girl's name since it ends on "sha". As a Russian living in the US, it doesn't bother me because Americans do name baby girls with masculine sounding names. In Russia, it is not considered a unisex name. It is a short version of the name Mikhail or Michael in English, which is a male name. Russians don't name their daughters "Misha". Paradoxically, "Sasha" is unisex because it is short from Alexandra or Alexander. Go figure.

My name is Misha and I love my name. I am a woman, very feminine. Every woman or person should be proud to hold this name, because our name means a bearer of light spirit soaring whom is like the Lord, my love outpouring. We touch the heart of God and in part his love with all those around us. We are also Michal or Michael, God's mighty heavenly Archangel of war. We are merely God's greatest vessels.

I am Indian and in our language meaning of Misha is smile. Traditionally we use this name for girls in Hindu religion. In the Urdu language Misha means beautiful and pretty so as per our culture this name is feminine. We should not hurt each others emotions and respect the feelings attached to it for different cultures.

"Misha" is derived from the "mi" in "Mikhail." Many Russian diminutives are created by taking a part of the given name and adding "sha" to it. Well-known examples include "Natasha," taken from "Natalya" (nata+sha), or "Sasha," taken from either "Aleksandr" or "Aleksandra" (sa+sha), though in the case of Sasha, it is more commonly used on males, despite being a unisex name.

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The alternate spellings of "Mischa" and "Micha" seem to have originated from France and Germany. In French, "ch" makes the "shh" sound, therefore, "cha" is pronounced "shah." In German, it is practically the same way, only it also includes the "s" to make the "shh" sound out of "sch." Think of Schumann, the composer, as an example of this, whose name is pronounced "SHOO-mahn."

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Misha (and its variant spellings) used on females came from anglophone countries, whose ears interpret most names with "a" at the end to be strictly feminine, regardless of ethnic background or meaning.

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The origin of Misha is strictly masculine, as it was a nickname created from a masculine name ("Mikhail," a.k.a., "Michael"). I have seen "Mike" and "Mikey" used on girls as nicknames for "Michaelina" (and its variant spellings), "Michelle" (and its variant spellings), and "Michaela" (and its variant spellings). Coming from someone born and raised in the United States, I can honestly say that using "Mike" and "Mikey" on females sounds extremely odd. I can imagine that it also sounds strange to most of Europe to hear their ethnic variant of "Mike" and "Mikey" used on females.

Only angry, jealous euro-Russians would feel offended and confused by anyone using Mischa as a girls name. The rest of the world doesn't care about name vs gender. Most russians are immigrants of some sort themselves, that country is littered with mixed cultures, so they're really, really confused. Use whatever inspires you. That is how modern intelligent progressive cultures operate.

Listen you people (especially you "penneyperson"). Misha is a Russian, masculine name which is short for Mikhail (Michael). It doesn't matter how "feminine" your ignorant anglophone ear thinks this name sounds, Misha is a masculine name. Calling a girl Misha would be like calling her Mike or Michael. She'd endure torture if she ever went to Russia, because this is a STRICTLY MASCULINE NAME, and always has been. If you want to choose a Russian name, then you should respect the language and culture, and not use Misha on a girl.

Misha/Mischa is a Russian name that means "Who resembles God?"