Misha

In the USA this name is unisex but mostly feminine. It is sometimes spelled Mischa and can be used alone or as a nickname for Michelle. In Russia it is masculine and a diminutive of Mikhail.

Speaking from personal experience, I grew up in Germany born as Michael but was (and am still) called “Mischa” by my family and friends (this is the German spelling). I never met a female Mischa (or Misha) until I came to the United States, and, ironically, went out with one on a date. Her father had a fascination with Russian history, but, apparently, was not aware that this name was given to boys in Russia. Again, in Germany I have never met a girl/woman with this name ever, and I have been back extensively. While the comments make it clear that there are any number of girls/women who have been given this name in the U.S. in recent decades, it has historically been a boy’s name. Now, given all of the changes with respect to gender, gender-roles, etc., it is not surprising that the name has been given to girls in the U.S. I cannot tell you how many times someone here in the U.S. had significant misconceptions, when they saw my name only on paper or heard my name, about my gender and race, only to be surprised when meeting me in person. On a personal level, I was always annoyed when someone thought it was a girls’ name. However, living in the United States meant having to put up with it.

It is UNISEX, not masculine. It also can be a short form of the Russian girl names Mikhelina, Mikhailina, Mishel, etc... All Mishels (Michelle in English) I know go by Misha.

Earlier this year BabyCenter declared 2015 "The Year of the Gender-Neutral Baby," and the trend of rejecting the idea of traditional "boy" and "girl" names is still going strong.

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Of course, parents have switched up so-called boy and girl names for ages. But there were also unspoken rules about it. Usually girls were given feminine names like Alexandra or Nicole and went by boyish nicknames (Alex or Nicky) just for fun. And once a traditionally male name (like Ashley or Leslie) took off for girls, parents generally stopped giving it to boys.

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Many new parents – including celebrity moms and dads – are even using traditionally male names for their daughters. For example, Wyatt (like the daughter of Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher) jumped 84 percent on our list of girls' names, Lincoln (like the daughter of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) gained 47 percent, Maxwell (like the daughter of Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson) leaped 39 percent, and James (like the daughter of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds) climbed 13 percent. Announced today- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced his DAUGHTER - Max!

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I personally think tomorrow's children will never consider this to be an issue. They will get that Mischa can be feminine or masculine without much question.

"What about the name Sasha? It's also masculine in Russia- short for Alexander." - Sasha isn't masculine in Russia, LOL, where did you find this? Sasha is short for BOTH (Alexander and Alexandra) like Alex in English speaking countries.

Living in the US, I didn't know (or know of) folks named Misha, but I would have guessed that it was a female name. That is not to suggest what gender ought to use it. I have heard from friends in Latvia (not Russia, but Russian influence) that male names typically (always?) end in "s" and female names end in "a". And in Latin-based languages, often the the way to distinguish between a male and female name is by the ending, e.g., Mario (male) and Maria (female). So I don't think it is a problem for our "anglophile ears" to guess (assume) that a name ending in "a" is female. But I *do* find it a bit disturbing when people suggest that the name should not be used as it has been used in its native culture historically.

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Having said that, the reason I looked here in the first place is because I met a Russian/Ukrainian guy who identified himself as Misha and wanted to make sure I understood him correctly. So my single data point supports the assertion that Misha is a guy's name. I have found this forum interesting and educational. It's interesting to hear both the history and people's perceptions of names.

The usage of names underlies changes and ensures that new / modern names are created. Regardless if a Russian origin of Mischa is masculine and the nickname of Mikhail / Michael, why can Mischa not be a modern unisex name? BTW, there are also a lot of Arabic and Hebrew variants like Miesha or Myiesha. All of them are female names. I fell in love with the sound of Mischa and its spelling right away. It's a great unisex name and a beautiful one for women.

I've heard Misha be used as a nickname for Michelle.

Misha is also commonly used in Georgia, where it is a diminutive of Mikheil. In Georgian, Misha is written as: მიშა.

Although it may horrify people of Russian origin, this name is nearly always used as a female name in English-speaking countries.

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Much like the name Nikita.

This is a boy name. It's disgusting to think that people think it's a girl name. It's a boy name. I'm from Russia and this name is never used on a girl.

In Russia it's only a masculine name! And it sounds too weird for a girl.

It seems to be fairly common in Germany too (I've seen it mostly as Mischa). But yeah, seeing it on girls sets my teeth on edge, too.

Misha is only a masculine name in Russia, so how can 57% of the public ever think that it is a feminine name? If some poor girl will say there: "Hi, I'm Misha", most of people will think they heard wrong. Or simply that they've met a great joker.

I live in a area full of Russians, I've learnt it isn't a girls name. In my school (which is very good making it big) they're 4 Russian boys with this name and 1 girl but she's Anglo-Australian (I live in Melbourne.)