Hi Neil,
I hope you're enjoying the bank holiday, although I gather the weather is pretty awful. It's only in the low 30s here in Dubai
You've done incredibly well to track down all those Ukrainian records. But then I suppose it's similar in researching German-Jewish ancestry, in that JG only has a tiny portion of all the records that are available.
Alexander Beider is indeed the recognised expert on Jewish names, but I'm still somewhat surprised that he can suggest a specific location for a patronymic surname. He's basically suggesting that the given name Nesanel was more common in Lithuania than other parts of the Russian Empire. I don't see why it would be.
I've seen your post to JG; it will be interesting to see the responses. As I clarified earlier, the one brother named on the MA was
Moshe-Leib (a mixed lineage Hebrew-Yiddish double name). Traditional Jewish naming practice would mean that he had most probably been given the names of two different deceased ancestors.
I should also point out in passing that brother(s) are named on the marriage authorisation for the potential implementation of the practice of
yibum, whereby if a man dies without children it is the obligation of his
eldest unmarried brother to marry the widow. The practice had actually been banned in Ashkenazi communities for many hundreds of years, although it persisted amongst the Sephardi.
I cannot think of a valid reason, why
Moshe-Leib would anglicise his name to Leon Shaul. Something like Morris Lewis/Louis or Morris Leon would not have been unusual. I can speculate that Leon's original Jewish name was
Leib-Shoel/Shoyel, a mixed lineage Yiddish-Hebrew double name. As long as the
Leib after whom he had been named was not the same deceased ancestor commemorated in
Moshe-Leib, then the name combinations were in keeping with naming traditions.
It's a bit frustrating that Leon married out, so there are no readily available Hebrew records.
Moisey-Nesanel, a mixed lineage Hebrew-Hebrew double name, would appear to be another man altogether.
The other question that poses itself is, was it common to name only when brother on a MA, when the groom had several?
Regards,
Justin
