Oleg

Given name
Oleg
Oleg of Novgorod by Viktor Vasnetsov
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameOld Norse
MeaningHoly
Region of originEastern Europe
Other names
Related namesOlga, Helge

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.

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 four key features of the Russian pronunciation:

  1. 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'.
  2. 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'.
  3. The Russian letter 'e' is pronounced 'ye' as in 'yellow'.
  4. The final 'г' (g) is devoiced to [k].

Thus although English speakers tend to pronounce the name as 'Óh-legg', in Russian it sounds more like 'Al-yék', the equivalent of Alec.

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

and co-founder of the Soviet resistance group, the Young Guard

1970), Russian singer songwriter

  • Oleg Kuleshov (born 1974), Russian handball player
  • Oleg Kuleshov (skier) (born 1976), Belarusian freestyle skier
  • Oleg Kulik, Ukrainian-born Russian artist
  • Oleg Kulkov (born 1978), Russian marathon runner
  • Oleg Kurguskin (born 1966), Russian motorcycle speedway rider
  • Oleg Kutscherenko (born 1968), Ukrainian-German wrestler
  • Oleg Kuvaev (born 1967), Russian artist, designer and animator
  • Oleg Kuvshinnikov (born 1965), Russian politician
  • Oleg Kuzhlev (born 1966), Russian footballer
  • Oleg Kuzmin (born 1981), Russian footballer
  • Oleg Kuznetsov (serial killer), Soviet-Russian serial killer and rapist
  • Oleg Ladik (born 1971), Ukrainian-born Canadian Olympic wrestler
  • Oleg Lanin (born 1996), Russian footballer
  • Oleg Lebedev (disambiguation), several people
  • Oleg Leonov (disambiguation), several people
  • Oleg Lepik (born 1973), Russian-born Estonian footballer
  • Oleg Li (born 1991), Russian ice hockey player
  • Oleg Lidrik (born 1971), Russian footballer and official
  • Oleg Lipchenko (born 1957), Canadian artist and illustrator
  • Oleg Litvinenko (1973–2007), Kazakhstani footballer
  • Oleg Lobov (1937–2018), Russian politician
  • Oleg Lomakin (1924–2010), Russian painter
  • Oleg Losev (1903–

1942), Russian scientist and inventor

Fictional characters

Television series

Movies

  • Oleg, Don Shirley's cellist in Green Book, played by Dimiter D. Marinov

Video games

References

  1. ^ ТАБЛИЦЯ транслітерації українського алфавіту латиницею. kmu.gov.ua (in Ukrainian)
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