Beautiful Finnish names. Finnish names
In the old days, names were taken from the surrounding world. This is how, for example, Ilma appeared ( ilma- air), Kuura ( kuura- frost) and Villa ( vilja- grain). However, in Finland both international names and their diminutive forms are used: Aleksanteri and Santeri, Anna and Anu.
Finnish scientist and collector of Kalevala Elias Lönnrot sometimes signed himself “Ilya” in letters to Russian colleagues. This is understandable: Finnish names are unfamiliar to the ears and eyes of the foreign-language public. These names contain the mentality of the people and the peculiarities of their history.
The parents of a Finnish baby have a rather large choice of names - they have before them all the wealth of the name day calendar and the dictionary. Photo: Riitta Supperi/Team Finland
According to law and tradition
Naming is regulated by law in Finland. It states that a newborn child can be given no less than one and no more than three names. A first name cannot be an offensive word; the law prohibits giving a surname as a first name and does not allow boys to be given a female name and vice versa. Brothers and sisters must have different first names.
Many names that were originally a diminutive form of a name, such as Santeri from the name Aleksanteri, are now perceived as completely independent and included in name day calendars. You can name the baby with some sweet-sounding word, for example, Suvi - summer.
There are also unwritten laws. In spoken language, the given name usually precedes the surname. The longest of the names is put at the end: the girl is more likely to be called Aino Annikki than Annikki Aino. Although there are exceptions: the great Finn Mannerheim was called Carl Gustav Emil. However, he did not like the name Emil and did not use it.
Like others and a little differently
In the old days, the Finns acted exactly like the inhabitants of other lands: they found names for children in the surrounding world. When Falcons and Peas cried in Russian cradles, Ilma, that is, air, Villa, grain, and so on, rocked in Finnish cradles. With the spread of Christianity in Finland, names began to be taken from the Bible and the church calendar. Marias, Annas, Johannes, and Michaelas ran around the Finnish courtyards.
The Finnish language trimmed foreign words in its own way: Anna was called Anu or Anneli, Maria - Maya, Johannes - Jussi. Other names are unrecognizable: the foreign Stefan became Tapani in Finland, Benedict became Pentti, Ekaterina became Kaisa.
A non-local cannot figure it out: Hannu, it turns out, is a male name, although Hanni is a female name. Finn knows: Hannu is a derivative of Johannes. And Hanny is the same Hanna.
The rise of all things Finnish
In the middle of the last century, the doctor and linguist Elias Lönnrot published “Kalevala”, and the Finns touched their own roots. In the wake of national revival, everything Finnish came into fashion, and so did names. By that time, the golden age of Finnish literature had also occurred.
Therefore, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the most popular Finnish names became Aino, Seppo, Ilmari, Tellervo, Väino from “Kalevala”, Kimmo from the poem by Eino Leino, Kari and Jorma from the book of Juhani Aho, the ancient Vilja, Kauko, Voitto, as a translation of the Latin name Victor - both mean winner.
And even those who bore Swedish names began to change them to Finnish ones: the artist Axel Valdemar Gallen became Akseli Gallen-Kallela, the writer Johannes Brufelt became Juhani Aho. The first Jorma in Finland was the son of Gallen-Kallela: he was born a year after the publication of Aho's novel.
Everyone has a holiday
In the excitement of creating their own names, the Finns again turned to their beloved nature. The girls Tuuli - the wind and Orvokki - the violet and the boys of Vesa appeared, that is, the young shoot and Touko - May, or the time of field work. The Finns also translated the Christian triad Faith, Hope, Love and received Usko, Toivo, Lempi, and Toivo and Usko are male names, and Lempi is the oldest Finnish female name.
Today, the parents of a Finnish baby have a much wider choice than Russian mothers and fathers - they have before them all the wealth of the calendar and vocabulary. The classics are still in the lead: according to the Population Registration Center, for example, in 2014, the first three places among boys were taken by the names Juhani, Johannes, Mikael, and among girls - Maria, Sofia, Emilia. But in absolute numbers there are much fewer of them than before, but it is not uncommon to meet Satu - a fairy tale, Yalo - precious, Oiva - excellent, and so on. A husband is happiness or a wife is a gift - for Finns this is commonplace: more than 28 thousand men in Finland were given the name Onni, almost 13,000 women - Lahja.
Newly formed names were included - and continue to be included once every five years - in name day calendars. And this is the truly Finnish idea of justice: everyone should have a holiday.
Text: Olga Derkach and Vladislav Bykov, February 2014; updated August 2015
According to Finnish law, a person's personal name consists of a personal name and surname. It is also allowed to assign no more than three names during the registration of the birth or baptism of a child. But mostly only one or two are common. According to ancient Finnish customs, the first-born child is named after the paternal grandfather or grandmother, the second children are named after the maternal grandfather or grandmother; the following are named as parents and close relatives. Another feature of Finnish names is that they are located in front of the surname, are not declined and are pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable.
Along with this, certain requirements are imposed on names:
- It is not recommended to call sisters and brothers with the same first names;
- You cannot call your child offensive names;
- It is undesirable to use a surname as a personal name;
- It is allowed to register diminutive words instead of full ones.
In Finland, since the 19th century, all names are chosen from the official almanac, which used to be published and is now published by the university in Helsinki. The tradition of forming a personalized almanac and recording words in it is still maintained. Today, the almanac published by the University of Helsinki contains about 35 thousand names used throughout Finland.
All the variety of names assigned to a person at birth are classified as follows:
- words that come from the Catholic calendar and the Bible;
- Finnish names derived from Swedish;
- borrowed from the Russian calendar;
- personal name for a person from Finnish words that were fashionable in the 19th and 20th centuries. Let's say, if you translate the word ainoa, it will mean the word only, and if you translate the word “gift” into Finnish, you will get lahja;
- names derived from popular European ones.
Over time, the Finnish personal name of a person from birth is increasingly turning into an international, pan-European name. And yet, now in Finland there is such a trend: parents are very willing to name their child with some native Finnish word. Such a return to old names has not lost its original meaning even today. Let's give some examples.
Male Finnish names:
Ahde - hill;
Kai (Kai) - earth;
Kari - underwater rock;
Louhi - rock;
Lumi - snow;
Merituul - sea wind;
Niklas - peaceful ruler;
Otso - bear;
Pekka - ruler of fields and harvests;
Rasmus - beloved or desired;
Sirkka - cricket;
Terho - acorn;
Tuuli - wind;
Vesa - escape;
Ville - defender.
Female Finnish names:
Aino (Ainno) - the only one;
Ayli - saint;
Aamu-Usva - morning fog;
Vanamo - probably “twice-blooming”;
Helena - torch, light;
Irene - brings peace;
Kia - swallow;
Kukka - flower;
Kulliki - woman;
Raiya - boss;
Satu - fairy tale;
Saima - from the name of the Finnish lake;
Hilda - fighting.
Unelma - a dream.
Evelina - life force.
To summarize, let's say that all Finnish names represent a cultural monument. After all, a person’s personal name is not only the official designation of a person, but also a historical beginning that protects the memory of the past.
select a country and click on it - a page with lists of popular names will openState in northern Europe. It borders with Russia, Sweden, Norway. The capital is Helsinki. Population – 5,359,742 (2010). Ethnic composition: Finns (93.4%), Swedes (5.7%), Russians (0.4%), Estonians (0.2%), Roma (0.2%). Two official languages – Finnish (92% of speakers), Swedish (5.6%). Other languages are spoken by 2.4%. The two state religions are the Evangelical Lutheran (84.2% of the country’s inhabitants) and the Orthodox (1.1%) churches. Other churches – 1.2%; 13.5% of residents have no religious affiliation.
In modern Finland, a child can be given from one to three personal names at birth. The Finnish name book consists mainly of Christian names. The latter began to displace the original names in the early Middle Ages and became dominant in the 16th century. At that time, the names of Christian saints, whose cult was widespread, were popular. Eastern Finland was somewhat different - there was the influence of Russian names. In the western part, names were in Swedish or Latin form.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Finnish names were chosen from the official almanac published by the Royal Academy in Turku and then by the University of Helsinki. These were mainly the names of saints whose cult continued until the Reformation. There were also a number of names from the Old Testament. Throughout the 19th century. Swedish and Latin forms of names were gradually replaced by Finnish ones. The Swedish forms were preserved in a special almanac in Swedish. In the 1930s, the use of Finnish forms of names stabilized and the almanac was gradually changed to include new and popular names.
Currently, the almanac of the University of Helsinki includes all first names borne by at least 1000 people. In the 2015 edition there are 873 of them (418 men's and 455 women's). The list of Swedish names in the almanac includes 659 names (318 male and 341 female). In the Sami part of the almanac there are 564 names (333 male and 231 female).
In Finland, quantitative analysis of name selection is taken seriously. On the website of the Population Registration Center (Väestörekisterikeskus) you can find lists of the ten most common names from 1900 to the present day. The material is given in ten-year periods - 1900–1909, 1910–1919, etc. and is available in three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English).
On a subdomain of the same site you can find lists of the 50 most common baby names since 2003 (the most current data is for 2014). At the same time, statistics are shown separately for Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking residents. This section of the site is only available in Finnish and Swedish.
Here are the top 10 names of newborns in Finland in 2014. At the same time, statistics are shown both for all names (i.e., for the first, second and third), and only for the first names. Statistics on the ten most common names of the registered population of Finland are also given.
10 most common baby boy names
All names Only first names Finns Swedes Finns Swedes Juhani (1770) Johannes (122) Elias (438) Oliver (33) Johannes (1442) Alexander (117) Leo (418) Anton (29) Mikael (1358) Eric (115) Onni (369) Leo (29) Olavi (1348) Michael (67) Eino (361) Benjamin (28) Onni (1047) Karl (66) Oliver (324) Hugo (26) Matias (969) Carl (62) Niilo (317) William (26) Oliver (928) Emil (54) Levi (316) Elias (25) Elias (926) William (52) Väinö (312) Emil (25) Ilmari (910) Oliver (51) Eetu (309) Alex (24) Antero (802) Benjamin (47) Alex (252) Kevin (24) Max (24) 10 most common baby girl names
This table first shows the statistics of all names (first, second and third), and then only the first names. In brackets is the number of those named.
All names Only first names Finns Swedes Finns Swedes Maria (1869) Maria (183) Sofia (380) Amanda (38) Sofia (1680) Sofia (79) Aino (377) Ellen (34) Emilia (1486) Elisabeth (71) Aada (370) Emma (31) Olivia (974) Alexandra (70) Ella (365) Ella (21) Amanda (916) Linnea (70) Emma (355) Edith (21) Aurora (880) Amanda (69) Helmi (330) Ida (21) Aino (877) Alice (57) Venla (321) Saga (21) Helmi (778) Ellen (54) Emilia (319) Stella (21) Matilda (717) Linnea (50) Enni (293) Elsa (20) Ilona (704) Olivia (50) Amanda (255) Minea (19)
Finnish names are very similar in structure to other European names and consist of a personal name and a surname. In this case, the surname officially follows the given name. In Finnish, a personal name, when used together with a surname, is not declined, but only the surname is modified. For example: Toivo Lehtinen (Toivo Lehtinen) - Toіvo Lehtiselle (Toivo Lehtinen), etc. The emphasis in people's names, as well as in the Finnish language in general, predominantly falls on the first syllable.
Below is a list of the most common Finnish girl names.
Finnish female names starting with A:
Ada is from a noble family.
Aili is a saint.
Ainikki is the only one.
Amanda is worthy of love.
Anneli is brave.
Aira - sea.
Aina (Aino) is the constant, the only one.
Alina is noble.
Allie is from a noble family.
Alma is soulful.
Annie is merciful.
The aura is fresh, dawn.
Aune is an angel.
Finnish female names starting with B:
Bertha is light.
Finnish female names starting with the letter B:
Wilhelmina is free.
Finnish female names starting with G:
Gratia - graceful.
Finnish female names starting with the letter I:
Ida is difficult.
Ilma is airy.
Ilta - evening.
Ilona is radiant.
Impi is a maiden.
Inkeri is a beautiful goddess.
Irene - bringer of peace.
Irma is everyone's favorite.
Finnish female names starting with the letter J:
Johanna is God's mercy.
Finnish female names starting with K:
Katarina (Katri, Kaya) - pure, immaculate.
Kuisma - space.
Kia is a swallow.
Finnish female names starting with L:
Layla - night.
Laina is a wave.
Laura - crowned with a laurel wreath.
Lea is an antelope.
Leena - the chosen one, the shining one.
Lenu is a resident from Magdala.
Finnish female names starting with M:
Maya is the goddess of spring.
Maria is desirable.
Maryatta is a pearl, mother of pearl.
Merya is a name from the ancient Merya tribe.
Miriam is serene.
Mina is free.
Finnish female names starting with N:
Neela is the conqueror of nations.
Finnish female names starting with O:
Olivia is an olive tree.
Finnish female names starting with P:
Paula is modest.
Finnish female names starting with the letter R:
Raya is the boss.
Ritva is a twig.
Finnish female names starting with the letter C:
Sally is good.
Saimaa - from a lake in Finland.
Satu is a fairy tale.
Sinikka is blue-eyed.
Finnish female names starting with T:
Mystery is the organizer.
Taria is a gift from God.
Theia is a gift.
Toini is the second child in the family.
Finnish female names starting with the letter X:
Helena is radiant.
Helly - hot (born in summer)
Herta is beautiful.
Helmi (Helmi) is a pearl.
Hilya (Hilma) - quiet.
Hilda is a fighter.
Finnish female names starting with U:
Unelma is a dream.
Finnish female names starting with E:
Eveliina is life force.
Eini is the only one.
Elina is glowing.
Ellie - my God is my vow.
Elma is a protector.
Elsa is my God - my wealth.
Elvi is truthful.
Emilia is determined.
Esteri (Ester) - star, asterisk
Finnish female names starting with I:
Yana - exalted.
Every year, approximately 14 million calendars and diaries are printed in Finland, in which they must indicate on what day the name day is celebrated.
Celebrating a birthday is just a reminder of how fleeting time is, and the name day is revered here as a celebration of individuality. Read about the rules for assigning Finnish names, their history and pronunciation difficulties in our material.
Don't name more than three
Until recently, Finnish laws allowed a newborn citizen to be given no more than three names. But already in 2019, the right to give a child four names will be given.
There is a simple explanation for the fact that a Finn can have several names. As soon as Christianity became the main religion of the country, children with pagan names were refused to be baptized. Here Latin, Greek and even Hebrew names came into play. And when the number of namesakes increased enormously, it was decided to give the child a second and even a third name, so that he could easily be called in the company of friends.
Wherein names should not be repeated among brothers and sisters. Availability of pronunciation in the Finnish manner is also desirable (if the name is borrowed or simplified).
It is forbidden to give boys girl names and call girls men's names. Absolutely exactly the name cannot contain a swear word, and also repeat the surname. It is also important that names cannot be declined!
The legacy of Kalevala
The Finns have always worshiped the forces of nature, giving their names to their children. The child's name could be Day (Päivä), Flower (Kukka), Snow (Lumi). Sometimes the name characterized the behavior of a person - Noble (Jalo), Merciful (Armo) or Quiet (Hilja). Sometimes it showed bright feelings, for example, Love (Lempi) and Tenderness (Hellä). There were times when it was believed that if you named a child a strange, even scary name, it would magically ward off trouble from its bearer.
But closer to the present day, children began to be given the names of mythical heroes, close relatives or famous people. This has become commonplace since the Finno-Ugric epic Kalevala was first published in 1835. And to this day, Aino, Tellervo and Sappo (those were the names of the heroes of the epic), as if straight from the pages of a story, walk among ordinary Finnish citizens.
Russian-Swedish trace
When Finland was dependent first on Sweden, then on Russia, borrowing names could not be avoided. But the catch is that often even the foreign name was transformed into Finnish pronunciation, and now it is difficult to recognize him. Here are some interesting specimens: Hannu (Johannes), Eetu (Edvard), Antero (Andrew), Raakel (Rachel), Perttu (Bartholomew). From Russia, Tarja (Daria), Veera (Vera), Oili (Olga), Petteri (Peter), Senja (Ksenia) entered the documents of the Finns.
The current generation of parents like to shorten names or give them diminutive meanings. Very serious citizens will name the child with a native Finnish, pagan name. But still, classic names remain popular.
Hit parade of the most popular Finnish names
Men's: Juhani, Olavi, Antero, Kalevi, Tapio, Matti, Ilmari.
Women's: Maria, Helena, Liisa, Annikki, Venla, Emilia, Kaarina.
Familyless, but not rootless
The suffix -nen- in Finnish means diminution, but in a surname it indicates belonging to any clan. This spelling feature is found in a third of Finnish residents. The most popular surnames are Virtanen ("little stream") and Korhonen ("deaf man"). They spend an eternity fighting among themselves for first places, lagging behind each other only by tens of people among thousands.
Surnames with the suffix -la- and -la- are tied to a place or associated with a profession (Seppälä - “blacksmith”). In other cases, another connection with nature appears (Kivi - “stone”, Valo - “light”, Susi - “wolf”).
Often wives have double surnames so as not to forget their family and to accept their husband’s family.
By the way
The law that every Finn must have a surname was passed only in 1920!
Finns are extremely surprised by the presence of patronymic names in Russian names. Although, when choosing a name for their child, they themselves do not forget about their relatives. Therefore, the first-born is often named after the paternal grandmother or grandfather, the second child after the maternal grandmother or grandfather, and the third after one of the parents.
Name day of the heart
Returning to the names, it is worth mentioning their significance for the Finns. Name days are celebrated on par with birthdays, and sometimes even more magnificently. Therefore, the University of Helsinki publishes a special almanac with a calendar so that everyone can celebrate their name day.
Once every five years it is updated, new names are added to it, but not a single previous one is excluded. At the moment, the almanac contains more than eight hundred names. More than 80 percent of Finns find their name in this almanac.
By the way
A Finnish name is included in a special calendar only if it is borne by at least 500 people who were born no earlier than a certain year.
Polina Ostroverkhova
