Olesya (given name)

Olesia (Ukrainian and Russian: Олеся), may also be spelt Olessia or Olesya, is a feminine given name.

Olesia is a Slavonic name that derives from a word "lyess" (Ukrainian "ліс", Russian "лес" - forest) and means "a girl from the forest", "a girl living in the forest". A different version of the origin of the name states that Olesia is a variant of the name Alexandra, and thus acquires the meaning of "protector". The names Alesya and Lesya can be considered variants of Olesia.

Notable people with the name include:
 * Olesya Aliyeva (b. 1977), Russian alpine skier
 * Olesya Babushkina (b. 1989), Belarusian gymnast
 * Olesya Bakunova (b. 1980), Belarusian sprint canoer
 * Olesya Barel (b. 1960), Russian basketball player
 * Olesya Belugina (b. 1984), Russian gymnast
 * Olesya Chumakova (b. 1981), Russian middle-distance runner
 * Olesya Dudnik (b. 1974), Ukrainian gymnast and coach
 * Olesya Forsheva (b. 1979), Russian athlete
 * Olesya Hudyma (b. 1980), Ukrainian artist, poet and journalist
 * Olesya Kurochkina (b. 1983), Russian football player
 * Olesya Mashina (b. 1987), Russian footballer
 * Olesya Nazarenko (born 1976), amateur wrestler, judoka and sambo player from Turkmenistan
 * Olesya Nurgalieva (b. 1976), Russian ultramarathon runner
 * Olesya Povh (b. 1987), Ukrainian sprinter
 * Olesya Rostovskaya (b. 1975), Russian composer, theremin player, carillonneur, organist, Russian zvon bell-ringer
 * Olesya Rulin (b. 1986), Russian-American actress
 * Olesya Stefanko (b. 1988), Ukrainian beauty pageant winner
 * Olesya Syreva (b. 1983), Russian athlete
 * Olesya Velichko (b. 1981), Russian modern pentathlete
 * Olesya Vladykina (b. 1988), Russian Paralympic swimmer
 * Olesya Truntaeva (b. 1980), Russian footballer
 * Olesya Zabara (b. 1982), Russian triple jumper
 * Olesya Zamula (b. 1984), Azerbaijani wrestler
 * Olesya Zykina (b. 1980), Russian athlete