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Finnish name
In Finland, a person must have a surname and at least one given name with up to four given names permitted. Surnames are inherited either patrilineally or matrilineally, while given names are usually chosen by a person's parents. Finnish names come from a variety of dissimilar traditions that were consolidated only in the early 20th century. The first national act on names came into force in 1921, and it made surnames mandatory. Between 1930 and 1985, the Western Finnish tradition whereby a married woman took her husband's surname was mandatory. Previously in Eastern Finland, this was not necessarily the case. On 1 January 2019, the reformed Act on Forenames and Surnames came into force.
Finnish given names are often of Christian origin (e.g., Jukka from Greek Johannes), but Finnish and Swedish origins are also common.
In Finnish, the letter "j" denotes the approximant [j], as in English you. For example, the two different names Maria and Marja are pronounced nearly identically. The letter "y" denotes the vowel [y], not found in most dialects of English, but similar to German "ü" and French "u". "R" is rolled. The stress is always on the first syllable in Finnish. For example, Yrjö Kääriäinen is pronounced [ˈyrjø ˈkæːriæi̯nen]. Double letters always stand for a geminate or longer sound (e.g., Marjaana has a stressed short [ɑ] followed by an unstressed long [ɑː] and then another unstressed short [ɑ]). As per Finnish phonotactics, both Finnish first names and surnames usually end in vowels, and always in either a vowel or a coronal consonant. This occurs regardless of gender, and surnames are no longer marked by gender.
Pronunciation of Swedish names is similar, but long vowels are not doubled and the stress may be on any syllable. Finland has a long bilingual history and it is not unusual for Finnish speakers to have Swedish surnames or given names. Such names may be pronounced according to Finland–Swedish phonology or, depending on the person named, the person speaking and the language used, a Fennicized variant. For instance, Kronberg may be pronounced as [ˈkru:nˌbæri] ("CROON-BARry"), [ˈkronˌberk] ("KRONN-berk"), or something between the two.
When writing Finnish names without the Finnish alphabet available (such as in e-mail addresses), the letters "ä" and "ö" are usually replaced with "a" and "o", respectively (e.g., Pääkkönen as Paakkonen). This is not the same, but visually recognizable.
Finland has three predominant surname traditions: the West Finnish, the East Finnish and that of the Swedish nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and military. Until the early 20th century, Finland was a predominantly agrarian society and the names of West Finns were based on their association with a particular area, farm, or homestead (e.g. Jaakko Jussila 'Jaakko from the place of Jussi'). Farm names typically had the suffix -la, -lä, i.e. "(place) of", and could refer to the husband (like Jussila) or describe the location (e.g. Isoaho 'large clearing'). This name could change every time the person moved to a different farm. Multiple names could be recorded in documents, such that for example Pentti Jussila l. Penttilä would be a person named Pentti who had moved from Jussila farm to Penttilä farm. Also, even if one had a surname, one would still be better known by the farm name. Farm names, patronyms and village names could be used to disambiguate between different people, but they were not true inherited surnames. For example, in Aleksis Kivi's novel Seven Brothers (1870) the character Juhani was officially summoned as Juhani Juhanin-poika Jukola, Toukolan kylästä, in English 'Juhani, son of Juhani, from Jukola farm, Toukola village'.
On the other hand, the East Finnish surname tradition dates back to the 13th century. There, the Savonians pursued slash-and-burn agriculture which necessitated moving several times during a person's lifetime. This in turn required the families to have surnames, which were in wide use among the common folk as early as the 13th century. By the mid-16th century, the East Finnish surnames had become hereditary. Typically, the oldest East Finnish surnames were formed from the first names of the patriarchs of the families (e.g. Ikävalko, Termonen, Pentikäinen). In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, new names were most often formed by adding the place name of the former or current place of residence (e.g., Puumalainen < "of Puumala").
In the East Finnish tradition, women carried the family name of their fathers in feminine form indicated by the -tar/-tär suffix (e.g.Karhunen ~ Karhutar < Karhunen tytär ("Karhunen's daughter")). By the 19th century, this practice fell into disuse due to the influence of Western European surname tradition. Also, women did not change their surnames with marriage.
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Finnish name
In Finland, a person must have a surname and at least one given name with up to four given names permitted. Surnames are inherited either patrilineally or matrilineally, while given names are usually chosen by a person's parents. Finnish names come from a variety of dissimilar traditions that were consolidated only in the early 20th century. The first national act on names came into force in 1921, and it made surnames mandatory. Between 1930 and 1985, the Western Finnish tradition whereby a married woman took her husband's surname was mandatory. Previously in Eastern Finland, this was not necessarily the case. On 1 January 2019, the reformed Act on Forenames and Surnames came into force.
Finnish given names are often of Christian origin (e.g., Jukka from Greek Johannes), but Finnish and Swedish origins are also common.
In Finnish, the letter "j" denotes the approximant [j], as in English you. For example, the two different names Maria and Marja are pronounced nearly identically. The letter "y" denotes the vowel [y], not found in most dialects of English, but similar to German "ü" and French "u". "R" is rolled. The stress is always on the first syllable in Finnish. For example, Yrjö Kääriäinen is pronounced [ˈyrjø ˈkæːriæi̯nen]. Double letters always stand for a geminate or longer sound (e.g., Marjaana has a stressed short [ɑ] followed by an unstressed long [ɑː] and then another unstressed short [ɑ]). As per Finnish phonotactics, both Finnish first names and surnames usually end in vowels, and always in either a vowel or a coronal consonant. This occurs regardless of gender, and surnames are no longer marked by gender.
Pronunciation of Swedish names is similar, but long vowels are not doubled and the stress may be on any syllable. Finland has a long bilingual history and it is not unusual for Finnish speakers to have Swedish surnames or given names. Such names may be pronounced according to Finland–Swedish phonology or, depending on the person named, the person speaking and the language used, a Fennicized variant. For instance, Kronberg may be pronounced as [ˈkru:nˌbæri] ("CROON-BARry"), [ˈkronˌberk] ("KRONN-berk"), or something between the two.
When writing Finnish names without the Finnish alphabet available (such as in e-mail addresses), the letters "ä" and "ö" are usually replaced with "a" and "o", respectively (e.g., Pääkkönen as Paakkonen). This is not the same, but visually recognizable.
Finland has three predominant surname traditions: the West Finnish, the East Finnish and that of the Swedish nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and military. Until the early 20th century, Finland was a predominantly agrarian society and the names of West Finns were based on their association with a particular area, farm, or homestead (e.g. Jaakko Jussila 'Jaakko from the place of Jussi'). Farm names typically had the suffix -la, -lä, i.e. "(place) of", and could refer to the husband (like Jussila) or describe the location (e.g. Isoaho 'large clearing'). This name could change every time the person moved to a different farm. Multiple names could be recorded in documents, such that for example Pentti Jussila l. Penttilä would be a person named Pentti who had moved from Jussila farm to Penttilä farm. Also, even if one had a surname, one would still be better known by the farm name. Farm names, patronyms and village names could be used to disambiguate between different people, but they were not true inherited surnames. For example, in Aleksis Kivi's novel Seven Brothers (1870) the character Juhani was officially summoned as Juhani Juhanin-poika Jukola, Toukolan kylästä, in English 'Juhani, son of Juhani, from Jukola farm, Toukola village'.
On the other hand, the East Finnish surname tradition dates back to the 13th century. There, the Savonians pursued slash-and-burn agriculture which necessitated moving several times during a person's lifetime. This in turn required the families to have surnames, which were in wide use among the common folk as early as the 13th century. By the mid-16th century, the East Finnish surnames had become hereditary. Typically, the oldest East Finnish surnames were formed from the first names of the patriarchs of the families (e.g. Ikävalko, Termonen, Pentikäinen). In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, new names were most often formed by adding the place name of the former or current place of residence (e.g., Puumalainen < "of Puumala").
In the East Finnish tradition, women carried the family name of their fathers in feminine form indicated by the -tar/-tär suffix (e.g.Karhunen ~ Karhutar < Karhunen tytär ("Karhunen's daughter")). By the 19th century, this practice fell into disuse due to the influence of Western European surname tradition. Also, women did not change their surnames with marriage.