Olga

Olga arrived in the Slavic world with the Varangians, a Scandinavian import of Helga, "holy, blessed." Saint Olga of Kiev, the tenth-century princess who converted to Christianity before her grandson Vladimir Christianized all of Rus, made the name foundational to Eastern Orthodox history. Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian households have carried it forward ever since. Two compact syllables, the l almost swallowed, the g firm. In American usage it was modestly common around 1900 and has since become unusual enough to feel distinctive. Chekhov's Three Sisters gave it literary gravitas; the name still reads clear-eyed and serious, with unexpected softness underneath.