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HelpRe: Finnish BAs
in reply to a message by Felie
Hi Felie, thanks for your comments!
Sami
- Sami is actually a Finnish short form of Samuel / Samuli, similar to English Sam or Sammy. The difference, though, is that Sami is used more often used as a full name rather than nickname. Sami was a popular name from the 1960's to the 1990's, so it's quite dated to me. Newborn babies today are more likely to be named Samuel than Sami.
Urho
- Urho itself doesn't mean brave, but it's derived from "urhea" which has that meaning. Urho is quite trendy today, but not overly popular. Many Finns associate the name with Urho Kekkonen, the longest-serving President of Finland (in office 1956-1982).
Onni
- Onni is very, very popular now, similar to Noah in the US. Onni isn't a timeless classic, though: last time it was as popular as it's today was about 100 years ago. So, Onni can also be considered as a vintage name.
Touko
- Touko has always been a bit rarer name, but it has got more popular in recent years. Touko is actually an archaic Finnish word, meaning "spring planting": in fact, the month May is "toukokuu" in Finnish. So, Touko is a vintage name like Onni, but not as popular.
Alvar
- Alvar is quite trendy today. I think it got first popular among the Swedish-speaking Finns and then among the Finnish-speaking majority. A famous bearer of this name was architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898-1972), whose work is still very much loved by Finns.
Hilja
- Hilja, too, is a vintage name got trendy again. It was most common from 1900's to 1920's.
Ahti
- Yes, Ahti was the god of the waters and fishing in the Finnish mythology: similar to Poseidon and Neptune. Ahti is also a trendy vintage name and to me it's an important name: it was my great-grandfather's name (his full name was Ahti Edvard).
Aino
- Aino is probably the most Finnish name I can imagine. All Finns know the story of Aino in Kalevala and that's why it has been a classic pretty much for over 100 years. You can meet a baby, an adult or an old lady named Aino in Finland.
Hertta
- Hertta doesn't mean "heart" in Finnish (that would be "sydän"), but "hearts" as in the card games: for example the queen of hearts is "herttakuningatar" in Finnish. The name Hertta is a Finnish variant of Hertha and it was my great-grandmother's MN (Anja Hertta Airikki). So, Hertta also belongs to the category "vintage but trendy".
Aulikki
- Actually I'm not sure about the meaning of Aulikki. I googled it and found out that Aulikki was invented by professor A. V. Koskimies in 1904. He probably derived it from the masculine name Aulis, which means "helpful, generous, good-hearted". Aulikki and its shorter form Auli are dated today: I've never met younger people with these names.
Also, Isla is pronounced differently in Finland, that is EES-lah (this is similar to Italian pronunciation, isn't it?). As for Astrid, I love it! I've also noticed that it's got popular worldwide: maybe the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies have helped people to come across with this lovely name?
Sami
- Sami is actually a Finnish short form of Samuel / Samuli, similar to English Sam or Sammy. The difference, though, is that Sami is used more often used as a full name rather than nickname. Sami was a popular name from the 1960's to the 1990's, so it's quite dated to me. Newborn babies today are more likely to be named Samuel than Sami.
Urho
- Urho itself doesn't mean brave, but it's derived from "urhea" which has that meaning. Urho is quite trendy today, but not overly popular. Many Finns associate the name with Urho Kekkonen, the longest-serving President of Finland (in office 1956-1982).
Onni
- Onni is very, very popular now, similar to Noah in the US. Onni isn't a timeless classic, though: last time it was as popular as it's today was about 100 years ago. So, Onni can also be considered as a vintage name.
Touko
- Touko has always been a bit rarer name, but it has got more popular in recent years. Touko is actually an archaic Finnish word, meaning "spring planting": in fact, the month May is "toukokuu" in Finnish. So, Touko is a vintage name like Onni, but not as popular.
Alvar
- Alvar is quite trendy today. I think it got first popular among the Swedish-speaking Finns and then among the Finnish-speaking majority. A famous bearer of this name was architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1898-1972), whose work is still very much loved by Finns.
Hilja
- Hilja, too, is a vintage name got trendy again. It was most common from 1900's to 1920's.
Ahti
- Yes, Ahti was the god of the waters and fishing in the Finnish mythology: similar to Poseidon and Neptune. Ahti is also a trendy vintage name and to me it's an important name: it was my great-grandfather's name (his full name was Ahti Edvard).
Aino
- Aino is probably the most Finnish name I can imagine. All Finns know the story of Aino in Kalevala and that's why it has been a classic pretty much for over 100 years. You can meet a baby, an adult or an old lady named Aino in Finland.
Hertta
- Hertta doesn't mean "heart" in Finnish (that would be "sydän"), but "hearts" as in the card games: for example the queen of hearts is "herttakuningatar" in Finnish. The name Hertta is a Finnish variant of Hertha and it was my great-grandmother's MN (Anja Hertta Airikki). So, Hertta also belongs to the category "vintage but trendy".
Aulikki
- Actually I'm not sure about the meaning of Aulikki. I googled it and found out that Aulikki was invented by professor A. V. Koskimies in 1904. He probably derived it from the masculine name Aulis, which means "helpful, generous, good-hearted". Aulikki and its shorter form Auli are dated today: I've never met younger people with these names.
Also, Isla is pronounced differently in Finland, that is EES-lah (this is similar to Italian pronunciation, isn't it?). As for Astrid, I love it! I've also noticed that it's got popular worldwide: maybe the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies have helped people to come across with this lovely name?
This message was edited 7/30/2017, 4:37 AM
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