Oleh
Around 33,000 men in Poland carry it, but it's handed down more than given fresh: only five boys got it last year. The Ukrainian form of an old Slavic name meaning "holy, blessed", worn only by men here.
Oleh Pronunciation
Oleh is pronounced O-lekh (/ˈɔlɛx/).
What Oleh means
Where Oleh comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Oleh belongs to Ukraine. It is the Ukrainian form of an old name Slavic speakers took up long ago, and its sense of "holy, blessed" traces back to the Old Norse Helgi, carried east by Varangian settlers who joined the early Rus'. The name settled into Slavic soil and stayed.
The most famous bearer ruled Kyiv more than eleven centuries ago. Prince Oleh, remembered in the old chronicles as Oleh the Prophet, governed the Rus' around the year 900 and moved his seat to Kyiv. Later storytellers gave him a death foretold by his own horse. His name meant "holy" while he did very worldly things.
In a Polish class register the name lands plainly, one word with no diminutive beside it. There is no Olek here, no softened ending. Oleh stands alone, four letters that hold the meaning holy, blessed.
How many people are named Oleh
1 in 636 men in Poland is named Oleh. 33,564 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #231 among male names.
Oleh's popularity over time
5 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #950 among newborns. It is making a comeback after a low in 2020. Still the #231 name among living men, even as it slips to #950 among newborns.
Where Oleh is most popular
Oleh is most popular in Lubusz, 625% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+129%) and Masovian (+103%).
-
Lubusz2 boys born+625%
-
Lower Silesian2 boys born+129%
-
Masovian4 boys born+103%
-
Greater Poland2 boys born+67%
-
Lesser Poland2 boys born+59%
Oleh as a middle name
Oleh is a first name for 33,564 men in Poland and a middle name for another 13, a 100/0 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2674th, between Olawale (13) and Oleksii (13).
-
#2672 Niels13
-
#2673 Olawale13
-
#2674 Oleh13
-
#2675 Oleksii13
-
#2676 Olesław13