How popular is the baby name Olga in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Olga.

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Popularity of the baby name Olga


Posts that mention the name Olga

Hotel discount for people named David

David, by Michelangelo
Statue of David

Hotel David in Florence, Italy, offers a 5% discount to guests named David. So if your name is David and you’re planning to be in Florence anytime soon, you may want to check them out. If you decide to book, remember to use the promo code “DAVID” and be prepared to prove that your name really is David when you check in.

The hotel, which has been around since the 1950s, was named after Michelangelo’s sculpture of David, which has been on display in Florence since 1504.

I don’t know if the hotel’s David offer is permanent (like the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Isabellas Free…Forever! program) but there’s no expiration date listed.

Here’s another name-based hotel deal I discovered recently, but this one does have an expiration date, so you’ll have to act quickly if you want to take advantage of it.

From Aug. 20 until Oct. 31, Breezes Bahamas is giving $100 to any guest staying at least 5 nights whose legal first name is on the 2013 National Hurricane Center list of storm names: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van or Wendy.

The spelling of your name must match the storm name exactly (i.e., “Sebastian” and “Rebecca” don’t count).

Image: Adapted from ‘David’ by Michelangelo by Jörg Bittner Unna under CC BY 4.0.

Where did the baby name Louvima come from?

The daughters of Edward VII: Louise (b. 1867), Maud (b. 1869), and Victoria (b. 1868)
Louise, Maud, and Victoria

Lord Francis Knollys was a close friend of the British royal family. So close that he served as as Private Secretary to the Sovereign under both Edward VII (from 1901 to 1910) and George V (from 1910 to 1913).

It’s not too surprising, then, that both of Knollys’ children were named in honor of the royals. His daughter was named Alexandra Louvima Elizabeth (b. 1888) and his son was named Edward George William (b. 1895).

Alexandra, Elizabeth, Edward, George, William — these are all names we know.

But “Louvima”? Where did that come from?

Turns out it’s an acronym. Edward VII (who was still “Albert Edward, Prince of Wales” back in 1888) and his wife Alexandra had six children: Albert Victor, George (later George V), Louise, Victoria, Maud, and Alexander John. “Louvima” was created from the first letters of the names of Edward’s three daughters:

Louvima = Louise + Victoria + Maud

The papers picked up on the interesting birth name right away. Here’s an article that appeared in a New Zealand newspaper in July of 1888:

Few people have noticed the second name bestowed on Sir Francis Knollys’ little daughter, who was baptised on May 5. Sir Francis, as every one knows, is the energetic and popular private secretary of the Prince of Wales, and in a torrent of grateful loyalty he has called his firstborn “Louvima,” a marvellous amalgam of the Christian names of the three young Princesses of Wales, “Louisa [sic], Victoria, Maud.” Since the expectant Mrs. Kenwigs invented the name of Morleena we have had nothing quite so good as this.

(Morleena Kenwig is a character in the Charles Dickens novel Nicholas Nickleby.)

Here’s a second-hand account printed in Notes & Queries that same month:

Louvima, a new Christian Name — It is stated in the newspapers — but it may not be correct; for, as Theodore Hook said to the credulous old lady, “Those rascally newspapers will say anything” — that Sir Francis Knollys, private secretary to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, has named his first-born Louvima, which is an ingenious amalgam of the names of the three daughters of the Prince — Louise, Victoria, and Maud.

After the news of Louvima Knollys got out, the rare name Louvima was given to baby girls in England (and other English-speaking regions) considerably more often. This lasted until the late 1910s.

Here are some of the Louvimas I found:

  • Hilda Louvima Pritchard, born in 1888 in England
  • Evangeline Louvima Brumbley, born in 1888 in England
  • Louvima Perline Ann Cunningham, born in 1889 in Arkansas
  • Lilian Louvima Daisy Blake, born in 1889 in South Africa
  • Louvima Primrose Massey-Hicks, born in 1890 in South Africa
  • Nina Louvima Shann, born in 1892 in New Zealand
  • Louvima Evelina Youell, born in 1893 in England
  • Louvima Griswold, born in 1894 in Idaho
  • Annie Louvima Brooksband, born in 1895 in England
  • Rita Louvima Faulkner, born in 1898 in Canada
  • Louvima Marie Crosson, born in 1901 in Florida
  • Louvima Naylor, born in 1902 in Iowa
  • Laura Louvima McKenzie, born in 1902 in Michigan
  • Florence Louvima Major, born in 1908 in Canada

I also discovered more than a few horses and boats named Louvima during this period.

One of those horses, in fact, belonged to the royal family itself. Which makes me wonder: who came up with the name originally? Was it Francis Knollys’ invention, or did he get the idea from someone in the royal family? Maybe one of the sisters? (The Romanov sisters — Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia — referred to themselves by the acronym “OTMA.”)

Louvima Knollys grew up very close to the royal family. In this 1897 photo, for instance, she’s posing with Queen Alexandra. The Queen is dressed as Marguerite de Valois, wife of Henry IV of France, and Louvima is dressed as a pageboy.

Louvima married twice, and had a son with her first husband (who died during WWI). Through her son she had four grandchildren and at least six great-grandchildren. As far as I can tell, Louvima’s unique name has not (yet) been passed down to any of her descendants.

Sources:

  • Bede, Cuthbert. “Louvima, a New Christian Name.” Notes & Queries 7 Jul. 1888: 6.
  • Dutt, William Alfred. The King’s Homeland. London: Adam and Charles Black, 1904.
  • Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys – The Peerage
  • “Ladies’ Gossip.” Otago Witness 6 Jul. 1888: 33.
  • Legge, Edward. King George and the Royal Family. London: Grant Richards Ltd., 1918.
  • “Society Wedding.” Straits Times 20 Dec. 1911: 7.

Image: The three daughters of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (1883) by Sydney Prior Hall

[Does Louvima remind anyone else of Luzviminda?]

Is Olga a horrible baby name?

In a Dear Prudie chat from November of 2012, an expectant mother asked this question about naming her baby Olga :

My husband and I are expecting our first child, a girl, around Christmas. We thought nothing could sadden us during this happy time, but were shocked last week to hear that my husband’s mother was taken from us in an auto accident. In his grief, my husband asked that we name our daughter after his late mother. The problem is that my mother in law’s name was Olga, and I just can’t fathom giving my child such a horrid name. I had been thinking something along the lines of Virginia or Lou Ann. I told my husband I would think about it, but he’s pressing the issue, and I need to tell him something. Am I being selfish for not wanting to name my child Olga, even under these circumstances?

This was (most of) Prudie’s response:

I think Olga is a lovely name, and if you used it your little girl would surely be the only one in the class. Your husband, and you, have had a shocking loss, so please tread lightly on the “Olga is a horrid name” line. You have a number of options. One, Olga becomes your child’s middle name, or you have an Olga Virginia, and she’s universally known by her middle name. In Jewish tradition children are named after deceased relatives, but that often mean that late Grandpa Saul is honored with a grandson named Steven. So you could possibly convince your husband that Olga can be morphed into Olivia or some such. There are many ways to include a remembrance of the grandmother tragically she will never know into your daughter’s name without making you cringe.

How do you feel about the name Olga?

If this expectant mother had asked you for advice about her baby’s name, what would you have said?

Which of Rockwell’s “Tattoo Artist” names do you like best?

Detail of "Tattoo Artist" (1944) by Norman Rockwell
“Tattoo Artist” (detail) by Norman Rockwell

Above is Norman Rockwell’s painting “Tattoo Artist,” which appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on March 4, 1944.

The names that have been tattooed on the sailor’s arm are: Sadie, Rosietta, Ming Fu, Mimi, Olga, Sing Lee, and Betty.

Which of these seven names do you like best? Why?