Marlon Brando Baby Name – Sacheen

Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972).

But he didn’t accept it.

Instead, he sent a Native American woman named Sacheen [pron. sa-SHEEN] Littlefeather to the Academy Awards ceremony, which was held in early 1973. Sacheen refused the Oscar on Brando’s behalf [vid], citing “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry.”

Right on cue we see over two dozen babies named Sacheen in 1973:

• 1973 – 26 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1974 – 25 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1975 – 14 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1976 – 12 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1977 – 7 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1978 – 8 baby girls named Sacheen
• 1979 – 7 baby girls named Sacheen

Where does the name come from?

According to Sacheen’s website, she was born Marie Cruz to an Apache father and a mother of mixed European descent. (She was named Marie after her maternal grandmother.)

While participating in the occupation of Alcatraz, her “Navajo friends nicknamed her “Sacheen,” a word she says means “little bear.” She liked the name and took it.”

Several online sources tell me that the Navajo word for “bear” is commonly written shash or shush, and these are similar to the Sach- of Sacheen’s name. But the Navajo words for “little” are yaz (yáázh) and yazzie (yázhí), neither of which resemble -een.

Source: Snell, Lisa. “What would Sacheen Littlefeather say?” Native American Times 25 Oct. 2010.