Oleg
Oleg (Russian: Олег), Oleh (Ukrainian: Олег), or Aleh (Belarusian: Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse Helgi (Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blessed". The feminine equivalent is Olga. While Germanic in origin, "Oleg" is not very common outside Eastern European countries.
 | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Old Norse |
| Meaning | Holy |
| Region of origin | Eastern Europe |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Olga, Helge |
Russian pronunciation
Олег (Oleg) is pronounced [ɐˈlʲek] in Russian. The English pronunciation of Oleg is based on the transliteration of the Cyrillic alphabet, and overlooks three key features of the Russian pronunciation:
- The stress is on the second syllable. In spoken Russian, the initial short unstressed 'O' is reduced to [ɐ], similar to the 'a' as in 'about'.
- The 'л' (l) becomes palatalized to [lʲ] ─ that is, it gains a 'y'-like quality, and but is still most closely approximated by a plain English 'l'.
- The word-final final 'г' (g) is devoiced to [k].
Thus, rather than "Oh-leg", the phonetically closest approximation of the Russian pronunciation of Oleg in English is the name Alec, but with stress on 'E'.
Ukrainian pronunciation
The Ukrainian pronunciation of the name 'Олег' is different from Russian, though the same Cyrillic letters are used in writing. Ukrainian 'Олег' is pronounced [oˈlɛɦ] and becomes 'Oleh' in English according to the transliteration rules.[1]
Belarusian spelling and pronunciation
In Belarusian, the name is spelled and pronounced as "Алег" [aˈlʲeɣ] so that the first letter changes to "A" according to the Belarusian feature of akannye. The last letter is also pronounced differently, which renders the Latin transliteration 'Aleh'.
People named Oleg
Rulers and nobles
- Oleg of Novgorod, 9th–10th-century leader and conqueror of Kievan Rus'
- Oleg of Drelinia (died 977), ruler of Drelinia
- Oleg I of Chernigov, Oleg Svyatoslavich of Tmutarakan, 11th–12th century Rurikid prince
- Oleg III Svyatoslavich (Prince of Chernigov) (c. 1147–1204)
- Oleg Yaroslavich (1161?–1189), Rurikid prince
- Oleg I of Ryazan, 13th-century prince of Ryazan Principality
- Prince Oleg Konstantinovich of Russia (1892–1914), Russian royalty
Others
- Oleg Aleynik (born 1989), Russian professional football player
- Oleg Andronic (born 1989), Moldovan footballer
- Oleg Anfimov (1937–2019), Soviet engineer and politician
- Oleg Anofriyev (1930–2018), Soviet and Russian stage and screen actor, voice actor, singer, songwriter, film director, poet
- Oleg Antonenko (born 1971), Belarusian professional ice hockey left wing
- Oleg Antonov (aircraft designer) (1906–1984), Soviet aircraft designer, founder of Antonov ASTC
- Oleg Antonov (volleyball) (born 1988), Russian-born Italian volleyball player
- Oleg Atkov (born 1949), Russian cosmonaut
- Oleg Babenkov (born 1985), Russian professional football player
- Oleg Baklanov (1932–2021), Soviet/Ukrainian politician, scientist and businessman
- Oleg Basilashvili (born 1934), Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor
- Oleg Belyakov (born 1972), Soviet football goalkeeper
- Oleg Berdos (born 1987), Moldovan road bicycle racer
- Oleg Bernov, musician and member of Russian-American rock band Red Elvises
- Oleg Betin (born 1950), the governor of Tambov Oblast in Russia
- Oleg Blokhin (born 1952), Ukrainian football coach
- Oleg Bodrug (born 1965), Moldovan politician
- Oleg Bogayev (born 1970), Russian playwright based in Yekaterinburg
- Oleg Bogomolov, governor of Kurgan Oblast
- Oleg Bolkhovets (born 1976), Russian long-distance runner
- Oleg Borisov (1929–1994), Russian film and theatre actor
- Oleg Bozhev (born 1961), Soviet speed skater
- Oleg Brega (born 1973), Moldovan journalist and activist
- Oleg Bryjak (1960–2015), Kazakhstani operatic bass-baritone
- Oleg Budargin (born 1960), governor of Taymyr Autonomous Okrug in Russia
- Oleg Buryan (born 1959), Russian artist
- Oleg Caetani (born 1956), conductor of Russian and Italian descent
- Oleg Cassini (1913–2006), French-born American fashion designer
- Oleg Chernyshov (born 1986), Russian professional football player
- Oleg Chirkunov (born 1958), governor of Perm Krai, Russia
- Oleg Chistyakov (born 1976), Russian professional football player
- Oleg Crețul (born 1975), Moldovan judoka
- Oleg Dahl (1941–1981), Soviet actor
- Oleg Delov (born 1963), Russian professional football coach and a former player
- Oleg Denishchik (born 1969), triple jumper who represented the USSR and later Belarus
- Oleg Deripaska (born 1968), Russian business oligarch
- Oleg Dineyev (born 1987), Russian footballer
- Oleg Dmitrenko (born 1984), Russian professional football player
- Oleg Dmitriyev (footballer, born 1973) (born 1973), Russian professional footballer
- Oleg Dolmatov (born 1948), former Russian footballer and a current manager
- Oleg Dudarin (born 1945), Russian professional football coach and a former player
- Oleg Dyomin (born 1947), former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Russian Federation
- Oleg Gazmanov Russian singer, composer and poet
- Oleg Gordievsky (born 1938), Soviet KGB agent who defected to the UK
- Oleg Grabar (1929–2011), French archeologist and historian of Islamic art, working in the United States
- Oleg Ishutkin (born 1975), Russian race walker
- Oleg D. Jefimenko (1922–2009), Ukrainian-American physicist and Professor Emeritus at West Virginia University
- Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko (born 1964), Russian cosmonaut
- Oleg Grigoriyevich Kononenko (1938–1980), Soviet cosmonaut
- Oleg Koshevoy (1926–1943), Soviet partisan and co-founder of the Soviet resistance group, the Young Guard
- Oleg Kovalyov (disambiguation), several people
- Oleg A. Korolev (born 1968), Russian artist
- Oleg Ladik (born 1971), Ukrainian-born Canadian Olympic wrestler
- Oleg Losev (1903–1942), Russian scientist and inventor
- Oleg Markov (born 1996), Australian rules footballer
- Oleg V. Minin (born 1960), Russian physicist
- Oleg Moldovan (born 1966), Moldovan sport shooter
- Oleg Nejlik, Swedish singer
- Oleg Nikolaenko, Russian computer programmer, accused cyber-spammer
- Oleg Novachuk, Kazakh businessman, currently Chief Executive of Kazakhmys
- Oleg Novitskiy (born 1971), Russian cosmonaut
- Oleg Penkovsky (1919–1963), Soviet colonel
- Oleg Pogudin (born 1968), Russian actor and singer
- Oleg Prokofiev (1928–1998), Russian artist, son of Sergei Prokofiev
- Oleg Prudius (born 1972), Ukrainian professional wrestler known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov
- Oleg Rykhlevich (born 1974), Belarusian freestyle swimmer
- Oleg Sadikhov (born 1966), Israeli Olympic weightlifter
- Oleg Sentsov (born 1976), Ukrainian filmmaker, writer and activist
- Oleg Shteynikov (born 1985), Kazakhstani freestyle swimmer
- Oleg Smirnov (disambiguation), several people
- Oleg Stepko (born 1994), Ukrainian and Azerbaijani artistic gymnast
- Oleg Taktarov, (born 1967) Russian mixed martial artist and actor
- Oleg Tverdovsky (born 1976), Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
- Oleg Velyky (1977–2010), German handball player
- Oleg Verniaiev (born 1993), Ukrainian gymnast
- Oleg Voloshyn (born 1981), Russian-Ukrainian journalist, political pundit, and former government official
Fictional characters
Television series
- Vanko Oleg Golishevsky, on 2 Broke Girls
- Oleg Igorevich Burov, a Soviet KGB officer played by Costa Ronin on The Americans
- Oleg the Prophet, ruler of Kiev, played by Danila Kozlovsky on Vikings (based on Oleg of Novgorod)
- Oleg Mikcic, portrayed by Karl Herlinger on season 7 of Dexter (TV series)
Movies
- Oleg, Don Shirley's cellist in Green Book (film), played by Dimiter D. Marinov
Video games
- Oleg, the original name of Teach from Xenoblade Chronicles 3
- Oleg Kirlov, the character in video games Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row IV, Agents of Mayhem
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