Meaning, origin and history of the name Olga

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Gender Feminine

Usage Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Estonian, Latvian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Czech, Slovene, Serbian, Bulgarian, Greek

Scripts Ольга(Russian, Ukrainian) Олга(Serbian, Bulgarian) Όλγα(Greek)

Pronounced Pron. OL-gə(Russian)

AWL-ga(Polish, German)

AWL-ka(Icelandic)

OL-gha(Spanish)

OL-ga(Czech)

[key · IPA]

Meaning & History

Russian form of HELGA. The Varangians brought it from Scandinavia to Russia. The 10th-century Saint Olga was the wife of Igor I, grand prince of Kievan Rus (a state based around the city of Kiev). Following his death she ruled as regent for her son for 18 years. After she was baptized in Constantinople she attempted to convert her subjects to Christianity.

Related Names

VariantsOlha(Ukrainian) Helga(German) Helga(Swedish) Helga(Norwegian) Helga(Danish) Helga(Icelandic) Helga(Hungarian)

DiminutivesOlya(Russian) Olgica, Olja(Serbian)

Masculine FormsOleg(Russian) Oleh(Ukrainian) Helge(German) Helge(Swedish) Helge(Norwegian) Helge(Danish) Oļegs(Latvian)

Other Languages & CulturesHelga(Ancient Scandinavian) Volha(Belarusian) Helga(Dutch) Aila, Aili, Helka, Oili, Laila(Finnish) Olgica(Macedonian) Áile, Láilá(Sami) Oľga(Slovak)

Same SpellingOľga

User SubmissionsÒlga, Olgá

Popularity

Images

Painting of Saint Olga by Mikhail Nesterov (1892)

People think this name is

classic mature formal upper class wholesome strong strange simple serious nerdy

Name Days

Bulgaria: July 11

Croatia: July 11

Czech Republic: July 11

Estonia: May 31

France: July 11

Greece: July 11

Hungary: July 27

Latvia: August 11

Poland: July 11

Poland: July 24

Russia: July 24

Slovakia: July 23

Sweden: November 21

Olga