Masha as a Jewish name

[RCK]

Does anyone have more information about the usage of the name "Masha" as a Jewish name? 

In the context of how to spell names for Gittin (ritual bills of divorce), I have seen sources who write that Masha is usually a (secular?) nickname for the Hebrew name Miriam (and is thus spelled with an Aleph at the end). But they say it can sometimes be used as a form of Moshe (a boy's name) if someone names a girl after a man named Moshe, and in such a case the name is spelled the same as Moshe (MEM-SHIN-HAY).

Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

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[Alexandre Beider]

Yiddish name Mashe was used in Slavic countries as a form (Masha) borrowed from local Slavs for whom it was a diminutive form of either Marketa (in Czech lands) or Maria (in Poland, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania). The earliest records come from the Czech area. The spelling with aleph is the most traditional. Jews could use it as a hypocoristic form (nickname) for Mariam (Miriam), or Malka. In some families, it could indeed be chosen in honor of a deceased Moshe but this was a purely individual choice because of the phonetic coincidence.

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En date de : Ven 23.1.15, RCK <yesh...@gmail.com> a écrit :

Objet: [Jewish Names] Masha as a Jewish name
À: jewish...@googlegroups.com
Date: Vendredi 23 janvier 2015, 10h18

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