Russian names in Finnish. Finnish names and surnames: what do you name the yacht...

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 boy names.

Finnish male names starting with A:

Aapeli - shepherd

Aapo - father of many children

Aarn - the power of the eagle

Aatos - thought

Aatto - noble wolf

Aatu - noble wolf

Aymo - generous amount

Akilles - causing pain

Akseli - my father - the world

Aku - venerable

Aleksanteri - defender of humanity

Alexi - defender

Alpertti - bright nobility

Altti - bright nobility

Henri - House Ruler

Anselmi - protector of god

Anssi - protector of god

Antero - human, warrior

Antti - man, warrior

Arvo - benefit

Armas - beloved

Armo - grace

Artaud - the bear man

Artteri - bear man

Arttu - bear man

Ahti - turning sand into pearls

Ahto - master of the wave

Aetami - earth

Finnish male names starting with the letter B:

Valto - famous ruler

Valtteri - ruler of the army

Veikko - brother

Veli - brother

Vesa - young tree

Viljami - helmet

Viljo - helmet

Will - helmet

Vilpu - helmet

Vilhelmi - helmet

Vilho - helmet

Wine - gentle

Voitto - victory

Vainamoinen is a wide and slow-flowing river

Veino is a wide and slowly flowing river

Finnish male names starting with D:

Jaakko - displacer

Jaako - Displacer

Jakka - good god

Jalmari - helmet warrior

Jalo - kind and noble

Jani - good god

Jari - helmet warrior

Jaska - Displacer

Jassi - good god

Jiri - peasant

Jirki - peasant

Joni - good god

Jorma - appointed by god

Giuseppi - multiplying

Djukahainen - big

Juko - big

Juna - dove

Junas - dove

Juni - good god

Juuzo - multiplying

Juha - good god

Juhana - good god

Juhani - good god

Juho - good god

Jane - good god

Finnish male names starting with E:

Erho - brave

Finnish male names starting with the letter I:

Iizakki - laughing

Iikka - laughing

Iiro - laughing

Ilijumala - supergod

Ilis - god - my god

Ilmari - air

Ilmarinen - air

Had - competing

Intu - enthusiasm

Irjana - peasant

Irjo - peasant

Irikki - ruler

Iro - ruler

Ismo - heard by God

Itu - Guardian of Prosperity

Finnish male names starting with K:

Kaapo - strong man of god

Kaapro - strong man of god

Kaarl - man

Kaarlo is a man

Kari - blessed one

Castaa - staff for thinking

Casti - staff for thinking

Keilva - blacksmith

Calvey - blacksmith

Kiosti - staff for thinking

Coco is far away

Kol - man

Finnish male names starting with L:

Lassi - from Laurentum

Lemminkäinen - love

Livi - bound, attached

Lono - victory of the people

Laurie - from Laurentum

Luukas - from Lucania

Leiss - from Laurentum

Finnish male names starting with M:

Markku - warlike

Marty - from Mars

Matthias is a gift from God

Matti is a gift from God

Mika - who is like God?

Mikko - who is like god?

Mono - large

Monu - big

Mori - dark-skinned, Moor

Maynayo - excellent

Finnish male names starting with the letter N:

Niilo - victory of the people

Niirikki - associated with the biblical Nimrod

Niko - victory for the people

Nua - rest

Finnish male names starting with O:

Oiwa - luxurious

Ocastie - venerable

Olavi - heir, descendant

Olis - useful

Ollie - heir, descendant

Unnie - luck

Oskari - deer lover

Osku - deer lover

Otso - bear

Finnish male names starting with P:

Paavali - small

Paavo - small

Pazi is the king

Pauli - small

Pekka - rock, stone

Pecco - the name of the god of barley and brewing

Pellervo - region

Penti - blessed one

Perti - bright nobility

Pertu - son of Talmay

Petrie - rock stone

Petteri - rock, stone

Piri - snow storm, blizzard

Pitari - rock, stone

Finnish male names starting with the letter R:

Ransu - free

Reijo - careful, vigilant

Reima - wise protector

Reino - wise ruler

Reko - careful, vigilant

Riku - powerful and brave

Risto - Christ the Presenter

Riti - peaceful ruler

Richard - powerful and brave

Roop - famous

Rupertti - famous

Ruuben - contemplator

Raymo - wise protector

Finnish male names starting with the letter C:

Sakari - God remembers

Saku - God remembers

Sampaa - sun

Sampsa region

Samu - heard by God

Samuli - heard by God

Santeri - protector of humanity

Santtu - protector of humanity

Severi - strict

Sepi - from Sebeist (city in Asia Minor)

Seppo - blacksmith

Shizu - definition

Simo - listener

Soini - boy

Salt - in demand

Sulo - charm, grace

Seikk - God remembers

Finnish male names starting with T:

Taavetti - lover

Taavi - lover

Tapani - crown

Tarmo - energy

Tattoo - God is my judge

Tahoe - crown

Taneley - God is my judge

Teppo - crown

Tero - human, warrior

Terho - acorn

Teuvo - a gift from God

Timo - worshiper of God

Tim - victory for the people

Toivo - hope

Tommy is a twin

Tono - modest, peaceful

Topi - God is good

Topias - God is good

Torsti - Thor stone

Tuomas is a twin

Tuomo - twin

Teisto - battle

Finnish male names starting with the letter U:

Ukko - old man

Walevi - heir, descendant

Usko - faith

Finnish male names starting with F:

Fredrik - peaceful ruler

Finnish male names starting with X:

Hannu - good god

Harry - Household Ruler

Hezekiel - God will strengthen

Heikki - House Ruler

Henrikki - House Ruler

Hermanni - army man

Finnish male names starting with E:

Eil - protector of humanity

Eljas - god - my god

Ensayo - first

Erkki - ruler

Erno - fighter against death

Esa - god - salvation

According to Finnish law, the personal name of a citizen of the country must consist of a personal name and surname. A maximum of three names may be assigned when a child is baptized or during birth registration. Although most often they assign one or two. A prerequisite is that the names must go well with the surname and be harmonious. It is allowed to register a child with a shortened version of the full name.

Finnish names that have been adopted in the Lutheran Finnish calendar have different origins. There are a lot of ancient pagan names on this list. It is possible to trace the connection between such names and the words that are the basis for them. For example: “Ainikki” means “the only one”, “Armas” - “beloved”, “Ilma” - “air”, “Kauko” - “distance”, “Lempi” - “love”, “Rauha” - “peace” , “Sulo” - “charm”, “Taisto” - “struggle”, “Tarmo” - “energy”, etc.

There are names that were borrowed from Germanic and some other northern peoples. These names underwent significant changes in the process of becoming part of the Finnish family of names. And over time, they began to be perceived by native speakers as originally Finnish. Although, unlike the first ones, they are not associated with any word or meaning.

According to Finnish ancient customs and rules, the first-born child receives the name of the paternal grandparent, and the next child receives the name of the maternal grandparent. Further children are usually named after immediate family members, parents and godparents.

Features of Finnish names

Among the most common Finnish male names are: Matti, Pentti, Timo, Kari, Heikki, Anti. Among female names, the most widespread are: Marya, Aino, Anna, Tuula, Ritva, Pirkko, Lena, etc.

An interesting feature of Finnish names is that they are not inflected, always have a first syllable, and are always placed before the surname.

Finnish names also have a number of mandatory requirements. Siblings should not have the same first name. You cannot call your child names that have an offensive or derogatory meaning. It is not advisable to use your last name as your first name.

Despite the abundance of various modern and borrowed names, the following trend is now observed in Finland: parents strive to name their child with a native Finnish name. Such love for the past cannot but rejoice.

They don’t choose names, they are born and die with it.. - this is how one classic humorously remarked.

We need to argue. They choose names, just like they choose! Now - our parents, but in ancient times a name was not given at birth, no... or a name, or rather a nickname, was given to a child if from birth he characterized himself with some bright trait, for example: Hitrulya, Sinister. Or, until puberty, the child did not have his own name, he was called by the name of his mother or father or tribe (later this turned into a surname). But when the child turned into a young man or girl, then the whole tribe decided what to name this boy.
In ancient times, a variety of words were used as personal names; they were rather nicknames that gave their owners a certain characteristic or simply words that were “pleasing to the ear,” which, according to relatives, could bring good luck and prosperity: Onni (happiness), Aarvo (value, wealth ), Hyväri (good). They expressed their attitude towards the child: Ilo - Ilo (joy), Kaivattu (long-awaited), Toivo hope. They were named very often in honor of some animal, bird, fish, assuming that this creature would be the patron of the child: Susi (wolf), Karhu (bear), Orava (squirrel), Hirvi (elk). Sometimes the nickname revealed the character or appearance of the child: Haukka (pike), Kettu (fox).
Evil names were also given in ancient Finland: Vihattu (Hateful), Huono (Bad). Do you think this is how bad children are characterized? Nooo! It was believed that a bad name would ward off bad spirits!

But this was the case in ancient times, when the Finnish people had not yet experienced the “cleansing cross of Christianity.” With the arrival of Christians, eager to save the people dying from paganism, everything changed in Finland. Djealous names began to be replaced by “Christian”, “biblical” names - that is, “correct”. The replacement was heated, with arguments and even fights. If the Finns still somehow agreed to be baptized - let there be another patron holy spirit, an addition to our other gods, they thought, then with names it was completely unusual. I really didn’t want to give my child some dissonant and incomprehensible “Ezekiel”, instead of such a cute Toivo (Nadezhda) or Onni (happiness). And the priests, when baptizing children, flatly refused to give the children pagan - read - “filthy” names, such as Air (Ilmari), Happiness (Onni). The matter smelled of pagan rebellion... And then…. The Finns got out of it, they began to give two or even three names. Or maybe this is how the priests got out of it, attracting the flock and agreeing to compromises. History will never be recognized again. The only fact left is that in all Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches it is customary to give several names. They say - to confuse the devil and evil sorcerers (so that they don’t know which name to call trouble, because in the world one name is used, and not all three). They also say that the more names, the more patron saints a person has after whom he was named. In general, whatever one may say, from several names - only benefit!
So, as time went on, “Christian”, that is, Hebrew, Latin and Greek biblical names gradually became more and more Finnish. Although, wait! First, in Finland there was a “Swedishization” (sorry, but that’s exactly it) of society. Christianization was carried out by the Swedes; having successfully baptized their flock, the Swedes began to preach their culture. Remember, maybe from films or books, those golden times of Sweden, when half of Europe was called “Swedish Ingria”, “Swedish Livonia”, “Swedish Finland” - the Swedes lived well! Everything Swedish was considered the best; the language in which they wrote, issued decrees and studied was Swedish. The Finnish intelligentsia, bourgeoisie and aristocracy bore only Swedish names. This continued for Finland for a long hundred years, literally until 1860.

However, after Finland gained autonomy (since 1860), as part of Russia, the situation turned exactly the opposite. Residents of the country people began to change Swedish names and surnames to Finnish ones. It has become fashionable to be Finnish, not Swedish! The situation became stronger after 1917, when Finland gained full independence. The well-known writer in Finland, Alexander Philander, became known as Santeri Alkio, and another writer and politician, Johan Hellsten, became known as Juho Paasikivi. Anders became Antero or Antti en masse, those with the name Johannes (Juhanus) now preferred the Finnish variants - Juho, Jussi, Yukka, Juha, Janne.

You have already realized that the name Johannes (biblical John) received many varieties in Finland from Juho to Janne. Mikael became Mikko, Jaakob became Jaakko and Samuel became Sami, Samuli. More examples: Laurentius - Lauri, Henrik - Heikki, Magnus - Mauno, Andreas - Antti, Arthur - Artaud, Matteus - Matti.
Many of the names that came to Finnish through Swedish are still recognizable, because there are variants in other languages ​​- English, German, Greek, Latin: Henrikki, Carlo, Pauli. Here's a broader list:
Aleksanteri, Santeri, Santtu - protector of people
Alexi is simply a protector, apparently of everyone and everything
Artaud - unknown
Lauri - unknown
Mauno - unknown
Mikael, Mikko - unknown
Markku - warlike
Mika, Mikko - godlike, godlike
Marty - in honor of the God Mars
Matthias, Matti - a gift from God
Richard - powerful and brave
Tuomas, Tuomo, Tonni - dear, related, close
Sami, Samuli, Sauli - a gift from God
Harry - owner
Hezekiel - clearly from the biblical Ezekiel - god will become stronger
Hermanni - army man
Henriki - unknown
Fredrik - peaceful ruler
Rupertti - famous
Yohani, Juhani, Yuhana, Juha, Juho - good god
Yuzeppi - multiplying
Yaako - unknown
There are also native Finnish or old Swedish words in the Finnish language that sound completely unfamiliar. These are, of course, the majority.

The most popular of the “old” names:

Aki - unknown
Anssi - protector of God
Antero - human warrior
Antti - a warrior who protects people
Arvo - value, advantage, benefit
Valto - famous ruler
Valtteri - ruler of the army
Voitto - victory
Ilmari, Yalmari - air
Ilmarinen - air
Had - competing
Ismo - heard by God
Yoran - blessed
Kari - blessed one
Kai is honest
Oiva - luxurious th
Ocastie - venerable
Olavi - heir, descendant
Olis - useful
Ollie - heir, descendant
Unni - luck, happiness
Oskari - deer lover
Osku - deer lover
Otso - bear
Paavali, Paavo - younger, small
Pekka - rock, stone
Pecco - the name of the god of barley and brewing
Penti - blessed one
Perti (obsolete - Pertu) - bright nobility
Petri, Petteri, Pitari - rock, stone
Pekka - simple, natural
Rayo - careful, vigilant
Reima, Reimo - wise protector
Rayno - wise ruler
Riku - powerful and brave
Risto - on behalf of Christ, baptized, overshadowed by the cross
Samu, Samuli - heard by God
Seppo - blacksmith
Shizu - definite, precise
Simo - listener
Soini - young, youthful
Salt - in demand
Taavi - lover
Tapani - crown
Tarmo - energy
Tahwo - desire
Teppo - crown
Tero - warrior
Timo, Timu, Teemu - worshiper of God has a different meaning,
like Niko - a victorious man (over all evil spirits and animals)
Toivo - hope
Tono - modest, peaceful
Topias, Topi - good
Erkki - ruler
Erno - fighter against death
Esa - god - salvation
Eero - dividing
Heikki - "local ruler"
Yari - unknown

Little used:

Aapeli - shepherd
Aapo - father of many children
Aarn - the power of the eagle
Aatos - thought
Aatto - noble wolf
Aatu - noble wolf
Aymo - generous amount
Akilles - causing pain
Akseli - my father - the world
Aku - venerable
Alpertti - bright nobility
Altti - bright nobility
Henri - Household Ruler
Anselmi - protector of god
Armas - beloved
Armo - grace
Artaud - the bear man
Artteri - bear man
Arttu - bear man
Ahti - The name of the “water God”, the GOD of fishing, literally - turning sand into pearls
Ahto - a variant of the same name - translated as “master of the wave”
Aetami - earth
Veikko - brother
Veli - brother
Vesa - young tree
Viljami, Viljo, Vilpu - helmet
Wine - gentle (emphasis on the first syllable!)
Vainamainen, Vaino, Väinäme - a name from the ancient Finnish epic - “a wide and slowly flowing river”, no one remembers the translation, but everyone remembers the real Finnish Hero. This is something like our “Ilya the Muromets”.
Veino is a wide and slow-flowing river
Erho - brave
Iikka - laughing
Iiro - laughing
Ilis is the name of one of the Finnish gods
Iryo, Iri, Irki - peasant - peasant
Irikki, Iro - ruler
Itu - the name of God - “patron of prosperity”
Intu - enthusiasm
Kaapo - powerful, man-god
Lemminkäinen - loving, beloved person
Livi - bound, attached
Mono - big
Monu - big
Maynayo - excellent
Niilo, Niko - a victorious man
Niirikki - associated with the biblical Nimrod
Nua - rest
Pazi - royal
Pellervo region
Piri - snow storm, blizzard
Ransu is free
Reko - careful, vigilant
Riku - powerful and brave
Riti - peaceful ruler
Sakari, Saku - not forgotten by God
Sampaa - sparkling like the sun, a jewel
Severi - strict
Shizu - definition
Sulo - pleasant, charming, sweet.
Taavetti - beloved
Terho - acorn
Teuvo - a gift from God
Teisto - battle
Walevi - heir, descendant
Usko - faith
Eil - protector of humanity
Elias is my god
Ensayo - the beginning
Yukahainen - big
Yuko - big
Jonas, Yuna, Yuni - dove
Yuuzo - multiplying
Jaakko, Yakka - dividing, distributing
Yalo - kind and noble
Yani - unknown
Yari - unknown
Yaska - unknown
Yassi - good god

There are also frankly modern names in the Finnish modern lexicon, borrowed from the list of American names:
Ronnie, Yimmy (that is, Jimmy), Willie, Tommy.

What names are the most popular today? Let's start with statistics on the names given to children from 1950 to 2012:

If you look around and remember the names of neighbors, Finnish friends, famous people, then most of all among them there will be names: Matti, Erkki, Pentti, Kari, Heikki, Timo, Pekka, Antti and Kai.

But here are the trends of the 21st century - statistics of boys born for 2010-2012:

According to Finnish law, you can give your child ANY 3 names, these can be any euphonious words. There is only one rule - if there are several children in a family, their first names should not be the same. The “first name” is considered official. It is not at all necessary to call the child this particular name, and it is not even necessary to declare it “official”. Most often - yes, the first name, it is the official one. For example, the current president of the country is Sauli Niinistö. Although, his full name consists of two - Sauli Väinäme Niinistö.

But Alexander Stubb is an equally famous politician in the country, in fact Kai-Goran Alexander Stubb. But no one will understand who we are talking about if you announce on the news “Kai Stubb addressed the audience.”

Finnish male names

About the Finnish language

Finnish (suomi) belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group and is related to Estonian, Karelian, Mordovian, Udmurt and, to a lesser extent, Hungarian.

Until the 16th century, the Finns did not have a written tradition. Since Finland was under Swedish rule for 700 years, the language of official documents was Swedish, and Finnish was used exclusively in oral communication. The first Finnish alphabet ("ABC-kirja") appeared only in 1540. Its creator was Bishop Mikael Agricola, who also translated the Gospel and several parts of the Old Testament into Finnish.

Nevertheless, the Finnish language remained for a long time “the language of the common people”: the aristocracy and wealthy townspeople preferred to speak Swedish. Finnish received official rights only in 1863 (by this time Finland had already been part of the Russian Empire for more than half a century), when Russian Emperor Alexander II issued a decree introducing the Finnish language into office work on a par with Russian and Swedish.

After independence (1917), Finnish became the official language of Finland. However, Swedish was retained as the second state language, despite the fact that it is now spoken by only 5.5% of the population. Quite a lot of Swedish borrowings have been preserved in modern Finnish: ranta(“shore”) - Swedish. strand, kirkko(“church”) - Swedish. kyrka, herra("master") - Swedish. herra. Some words came to Finnish from Russian: Raamatu(Bible) - Russian. "diploma" viesti- "news" piirakka- "pie". However, Finns generally try to avoid borrowings, and for new concepts they come up with words derived from Finnish roots: tietokone("computer") - from tieto(“knowledge, information”), Puhelin("telephone") - from puhe(“speech, conversation”).

About Finnish names

According to Finnish law, a child can receive a maximum of three names at baptism or registration. In practice, the child usually receives one or two names. According to tradition, they usually try to name the first child in the family in honor of the paternal grandmother or grandfather, the second - in honor of the maternal grandmother or grandfather; the third - in honor of one of the parents, and the subsequent ones - in honor of relatives or godparents.

In any case, the child's name must meet the following conditions:
- the name must not have an offensive meaning;
- the first names of brothers and sisters must be different;
- you cannot use a surname as a first name (as is customary in many European countries), but you can register a child under a diminutive name instead of a full one ( Annikki- instead of Anna etc.).

Modern Finnish onomasticon can be divided into several groups:

1. Names borrowed from the Bible and the Catholic (later Lutheran) calendar: Pietari - Peter, Maria - Maria, Mikael - Michael. Up to the 19th century. Finnish versions of baptismal names were used exclusively in oral speech and had the status of “colloquial”. Only Swedish or Latinized forms of names were recorded in official documents: Heikki - Henrik or Henricus, Antero - Anders or Andreas. The Finnish intelligentsia, bourgeoisie and aristocracy, as a rule, bore only Swedish names. However, after Finland gained independence, Finns began to widely change Swedish names and surnames to Finnish ones: the writer Alexander Philander changed his name to Santeri Alkio, and the politician Johan Hellsten to Juho Paasikivi. It is interesting that at the same time, not only full Finnish names became the equivalent of the Swedish name, but also short forms that had the status of full names in the popular consciousness: thus, the Anders became Antero or Antti (short form of Antero), the Juhans and Johannes changed their names to Juho, Jussi, Jukka, Janne (short forms from Finnish Juhani and Johannes).
2. Scandinavian names borrowed mainly from Swedish: Nuuti(Swedish) Knut), Torsti(Swedish) Torsten), Tuovi(Swedish) Tove). Also, certain forms of calendar names were borrowed directly from the Swedish language: Pentti- Swedish Bengt(lat. Benedictus), Maaret- Swedish Maret(lat. Margarita).
3. A small number of names borrowed from the Russian Orthodox calendar (mainly eastern Finland): Makari - Macarius, Raisa - Raisa, Outi - Avdotya (Evdokia), Tarja - Daria.
4. Names derived from Finnish words that came into fashion in the 19th-20th centuries. against the backdrop of a general national revival: Aino (ainoa- "the only one"), Lahja (lahja- "gift, gift"), Toivo (toivo- "hope"). This group also includes the newly revived pagan names from Kalevala: Tellervo,Tapio,Väino And Väinämö(derived from the name Väinämöinen). Some names arose as Finnish tracings of well-known pan-European names: cf. Voitto(Finnish) voitto- "victory, gain") and Victor(lat. victor- "winner"), Mies(Finnish) mises- “husband, man”) and Karl(ancient german. karl - "person, man, husband").

Most common Finnish names

10 most common Finnish names
(1899-2010, all Finnish-speaking population, all names, including second and third)

The most popular names among newborns
(Finnish-speaking population, all names, including second and third, 25.3.2009)

Finnish name days

The main guideline for determining the name day is the calendar of names published by the University of Helsinki. It includes the most common Finnish names and names day dates (Finnish. nimipäiva).

The Finnish calendar is not like the Orthodox calendar we are used to, where each name is tied to the date of memory of a specific saint. In the modern Finnish calendar there are a lot of names that have nothing to do with saints or biblical characters - Vieno,Urho, Orvokki, Tellervo. This is explained simply: despite the fact that in the Lutheran Church the veneration of saints is not as widespread as in Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the custom of celebrating name days is still preserved. However, it is perceived not so much as a celebration of the day of a personal heavenly patron, but as simply a fun holiday. Therefore, in order not to disadvantage those with non-calendar names, new names were added to the calendar.

In addition, a similar calendar with Swedish names is published in Finland - for the Swedish-speaking minority and those Finns who prefer Swedish names.

About Finnish surnames

Until the beginning of the 20th century, most Finns did not have official surnames: taxes were collected not from a specific person, but from the estate, so the state did not face the issue of identifying an individual. The upper strata of society mostly had Swedish surnames, the Lutheran clergy often had Latin ones (for example, Michael Agricola chose his surname in memory of his peasant father: lat. agricola- "farmer").

The law requiring every Finn to have a surname was only passed in 1920, after independence. Newly invented surnames were mainly formed according to the “geographical” principle ( Mäkinen- “living on a hill/near a hill”, Karjalainen- “Karelian, resident of Karelia”), on behalf of the father ( Pentinpoika- "son Pentti") or simply from some euphonious word ( Laine- "wave").

The most common surnames

10 most common surnames

Ancient folk names.

Origin story ancient Finnish names is closely related to the Finns' subtle perception of nature. In the old days, names were formed from the names of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world - Ilma (air), Kuura (frost), Villa (grain), Suvi (summer). Until the 16th century, the Finns did not have their own written language, and the Finnish language was considered the language of the common people until the middle of the 19th century. Folk names were passed on from mouth to mouth, forgotten over time, and were replaced by new names borrowed from other peoples.

Borrowed names.

With the spread of Christianity in Finland, children began to be called by biblical names. The people adapted unusual words to their pronunciation. Thanks to this, many Finnish names with religious meaning difficult to recognize. So, Anna could be called Anu or Anneli, Maria - Maya, Johannes - Jussi. Stefan became Tapani, Benedict became Pentti, Ekaterina became Kaisa. In Eastern Finland, a small number of names borrowed from the Russian calendar have taken root - Makari (Makariy), Raisa, Taria (Daria). A meaning of Finnish names Usko, Toivo, Lempi coincide with the Russian names Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov. Moreover, Toivo and Usko are male names, and Lempi is an old Finnish female name.

For 700 years Finland was under Swedish rule. Swedish had the status of a state language; the aristocracy and townspeople preferred to speak this language. Naturally, the Finnish name book partly consisted of Swedish names, which were readily borne by representatives of the upper strata of society - Anders, Henrik, Johannes. Such names were also adapted to the Finnish language - Nuuti (Knut), Torsti (Torsten), Maaret (Maret, Margaret).

Return of original Finnish names.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Karelian-Finnish poetic epic “Kalevala” was published, and the Finns seemed to plunge into their national origins. Originally Finnish names from the Kalevala - Aino, Sello, Ilmari, Väino - have come back into fashion. The names of literary characters have also become popular - Kimmo, Kari, Jorma, Villa. Even those people who bore Swedish names began to change them to Finnish ones.

Finnish parents, coming up with names for their newborns, like their distant ancestors, again turned to nature for help. So in Finland new ones have appeared names - Tuuli (wind), Orvokki (violet), Vesa (young shoot), Touko (May).

Finnish name days.

It is interesting that the Finnish calendar of names has little in common with the Orthodox calendar, where each name is associated with the date of memory of a specific saint. In the modern Finnish calendar there are a lot of names that did not belong to either saints or biblical characters. This is explained simply - the majority of the population of Finland professes Lutheranism, which is not distinguished by special veneration of saints. Name days here are a fun holiday, least of all associated with the name of some saint. Finns believe that everyone should have a holiday, so the list of calendar names is periodically updated with new names. There is also a separate calendar for those with Swedish names. This is a manifestation of “Finnish justice” - everyone should rejoice and have fun!