What do Finnish last names mean?

Finnish surnames often refer to a place where a family lived. Virtanen could literally mean “small stream,” but the surname was devised to mean a family living near a stream. Though the Finnish suffix –nen is normally a diminutive, in surnames it more often signifies belonging to a place where a family lived.

What is the most common last name in Finland?

Korhonen
As of February 2021, Korhonen was the most common surname among the 5.5 million Finnish population. There we around 22.2 thousand people having the surname Korhonen, followed by Virtanen with around 21.6 thousand individuals. Other common surnames included Mäkinen, Nieminen, Mäkelä, and Hämäläinen.

How do Finnish last names work?

In Finland, a person must have a surname and at least one given name with up to three middle names permitted. Surnames are inherited either patrilineally or matrilineally, while given names are usually chosen by a person’s parents.

What does Koivisto mean in Finnish?

Finnish: from koivu ‘birch tree’ + the local suffix -sto, i.e. ‘birch wood or forest’, originally a habitational name dating back to the 15th century, from a farm so named for its location; later it was also adopted as a translation of Swedish names such as Björklund (see Bjorklund).

What does the surname Moilanen mean?

Finnish: from the Karelian personal name Moila (a form of Samuel) + the common surname suffix -nen. This is an eastern Finnish surname dating back to the 16th century.

Where does the name Suvi come from?

The name Suvi is a girl’s name of Finnish origin meaning “summer”. To the non-Scandinavian ear, a cute and unusual nickname name, used by Finnish supermodel Suvi Koponen.

How do I know if I am of Viking descent?

And experts say surnames can give you an indication of a possible Viking heritage in your family, with anything ending in ‘son’ or ‘sen’ likely to be a sign. Other surnames which could signal a Viking family history include ‘Roger/s’ and ‘Rogerson’ and ‘Rendall’.