In Russian, Masha () is a diminutive of Maria. It has been used as a nickname or as a pet name for women named Maria or Marie. An alternative spelling in the Latin alphabet is "Macha". In Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, "Maša" is a diminutive of "Marija" but can be a given name in its own right. The Jewish name Masha () is of Biblical extraction. Tradition has it that the first Masha was named after a departed male named

Moshe Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses (Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses. According to th ...

(Moses).

Other diminutives of Maria

There are a large number of

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

s (nicknames) in Russian for ''Maria'' beside ''Masha'': * Marusya () * Manya () * Manyunya () * Manyasha () * Mashunya () * Mashuta () * Mashenka () * Mar'ya () * Mashulya () * Mashka ()

Notable people

Masha Bruskina Maria "Masha" Bruskina ( be, Марыя Барысаўна Брускіна ''Marïya Barïsawna Bruskina''; russian: Мария Борисовна Брускина ''Mariya Borisovna Bruskina''; 1924 – 26 October 1941 in Minsk) was a Be ...

(1924–1941), Soviet partisan of the Minsk Resistance *

Masha Dashkina Maddux Mariya "Masha" Dashkina Maddux is a Ukrainian modern dancer and dance teacher. She is a former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and is the founder and director of the Wake Forest Dance Festival. Early life and education Mariya ...

, Ukrainian dancer *

Masha Gessen Masha Gessen (born 13 January 1967) is a Russian-American journalist, author, translator and activist who has been an outspoken critic of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the former president of the United States, Donald Trump. Gess ...

(born 1967), Russian and American journalist and author *

Maria Kolenkina Maria (Masha) Alexandrovna Kolenkina (russian: link=no, Мария Александровна Коленкина; 1850 - 31 Oct 1926) was a Russian socialist revolutionary from a merchant family in Temryuk, a small town on the Sea of Azov. While s ...

, Russian socialist revolutionary of the late 19th century *

Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova Maria and Daria ('Masha and Dasha') Krivoshlyapova (Мария и Дарья Кривошляповы; 3 January 1950 – 17 April 2003) were '' Ischiopagus tripus'' conjoined twins from Russia. They were removed from their mother's custody at b ...

(1950–2003), Russian conjoined twins *

Masha Lubelsky Masha Lubelsky ( he, מאשה לובלסקי, born 25 December 1936) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 1992 and 1996. Biography Born in Herzliya during the Mandate era, Lubelsky wo ...

(born 1936), Israeli politician * Masha Ma, Chinese fashion designer *

Masha Rasputina Masha Rasputina (Russian: Маша Распутина, born Alla Nikolayevna Ageeva, Russian: Алла Николаевна Агеева) is a Russian pop singer, who went through her peak of popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2003, she scored ...

(born 1964), Russian pop singer *

Masha (singer) Masha Shirin (born ), professionally known as Masha, is a Latvian-born American pop/rock singer-songwriter. Career On June 5, 2012, Masha was featured on VH1's ''Big Morning Buzz Live'' show, where she performed a rendition of Rihanna's "Wher ...

or Masha Shirin (born 1990 or 1991), Latvian-born American pop singer * Marie Yovanovitch (born 1958), American diplomat who served as ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Ukraine * Maria "Masha Scream" Arkhipova (born 1983), lead singer of the Russian folk metal band Arkona *

Maria Viktorovna Maria Viktorovna, ("Viktorovna" is a patronym; her surname is not known) (born July 22, 1986), known professionally as Gentle Whispering ASMR, is a Russian-American ASMR performer and YouTube personality. Her YouTube videos are considered among ...

(born 1986), Russian-American YouTuber and ASMR performer * Maria Vladimirovna "Masha" Alyokhina (born 1988), Russian political activist and musician.

Fictional characters

* Masha, heroine of the Russian TV series '' Masha and the Bear'' * Masha, heroine of Pushkin's novel ''

The Captain's Daughter ''The Captain's Daughter'' (russian: «Капитанская дочка», Kapitanskaya dochka) is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal ''Sovremen ...

'' * Masha, one of the title characters in ''The Three Sisters'' (play) by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

* Masha, Ilya's and Polina's daughter in '' The Seagull'', another Chekhov play * Masha, in the ''Tokyo Mew Mew'' manga series * Masha Rostova, Elizabeth Keen's birth name in the TV series '' The Blacklist'' * Masha, part of Elizabeth's entourage in the film '' Young Frankenstein'' * Masha, obsessed fan in '' The King of Comedy'' (1983) played by Sandra Bernhard * Marya "Masha" Morevna, main character in '' Deathless'', a retelling of Russian folklore * Maria "Masha", title character in Hayden Kopser's novella ''Masha'' (2021) * Masha Dmitrichenko, in the miniseries ''Nine Perfect Strangers'', based on the novel of the same name

References

{{given name Russian feminine given names Hypocorisms