Declining since 1985, #3,167 for girls today.
Popularity of Olga since 1880
Babies named Olga per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,116 |
| 1890s | 2,997 |
| 1900s | 3,172 |
| 1910s | 11,733 |
| 1920s | 12,787 |
| 1930s | 4,932 |
| 1940s | 4,016 |
| 1950s | 5,660 |
| 1960s | 4,739 |
| 1970s | 3,629 |
| 1980s | 2,670 |
| 1990s | 2,112 |
| 2000s | 1,382 |
| 2010s | 610 |
| 2020s | 317 |
Meaning & origin
Olga has been in use in the United States since at least 1880, reaching its peak rank of 1 in 1916 (the year it was most popular). Since 1985, its popularity has been falling, and in 2025 it ranked 3,167 with approximately 1 in 32,145 baby girls receiving the name. The name was most common in Virginia among states. Olga remains a classic Russian and Slavic name with strong historical and religious associations, particularly through Saint Olga of Kiev. Its decline in recent decades reflects a broader shift away from older, traditional names, but it retains a dignified, cross-cultural appeal.
Olga is the Russian form of the Old Norse name Helga, from the feminine of heilagr, meaning 'holy' or 'blessed'. It was brought to Eastern Europe by Varangian (Scandinavian) settlers and became a classic name in Russia, Bulgaria, and other Slavic countries. The name was borne by Saint Olga of Kiev, a 10th-century ruler, which cemented its popularity in Orthodox Christian cultures.
Where Olga is most popular
Births per 100,000 girls by state. Press play or drag the slider to watch it move across the decades. The lightest shade means too few recorded births.
“Olga” around the world
Where Olga lands in the latest official birth statistics abroad, matched to the U.S. spelling.
France
35
babies in 2024
Sources: INSEE (France).
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Olya, Olenka, Olichka
Variants: Helga, Olgah
Sibling names for Olga
Names that share Olga's style, for a brother or sister.
Sisters: Natalia, Irina, Sofia, Tatiana, Anna, Hilda, Irma, Natasha, Wanda, Erna, Natalya, Odessa, Sonja, Tatyana, Helga, Polina, Valeri, Vanda, Yelena, Ekaterina, Girtha, Masha, Nadina, Nastassia, Natasia, Svetlana, Tatjana, Yulia, Danila, Elizaveta, Galina, Ludmila, Ludmilla, Viktoriya, Yury, Dalma, Elga, Jenya, Luda, Nastacia, Netasha, Varvara, Zhanna
Brothers: Dmitri, Ivan, Nikolai, Vladimir, Alexei, Aleksandr, Maksim, Rudolph, Andrey, Boris, Lenin, Mikhail, Pavel, Serge, Aleksey, Alexandr, Alexey, Alik, Almer, Andrej, Dmitriy, Dmitry, Igor, Leonid, Michail, Nicholai, Nikolay, Ruslan, Sergey, Timofey, Ural, Vadim, Vitaliy, Vlad, Artem, Artyom, Daniil, Elpidio, Filimon, Luby, Mihail, Olanda, Oleg, Stanislav, Stepan, Yuriy, Fedor, Fyodor, Gleb, Sergei, Vasili, Vasily, Yaroslav
