Names of places in Finland in Finnish and in Swedish

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Two names for the same city on a Finnish road sign. Ajokaistan ylapuolinen viitta 631a.svg
Two names for the same city on a Finnish road sign.

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Many places in the country have different names in Finnish and Swedish, both being official endonyms.

Contents

Regions

English name (often the same as the Finnish name)Finnish nameSwedish name
Central Finland Keski-SuomiMellersta Finland
Central Ostrobothnia Keski-PohjanmaaMellersta Österbotten
Kainuu KainuuKajanaland
Kymenlaakso KymenlaaksoKymmenedalen
Lapland LappiLappland
North Karelia Pohjois-KarjalaNorra Karelen
North Ostrobothnia Pohjois-PohjanmaaNorra Österbotten
Pohjois-Savo Pohjois-SavoNorra Savolax
Ostrobothnia PohjanmaaÖsterbotten
Päijät-Häme Päijät-HämePäijänne-Tavastland
Pirkanmaa PirkanmaaBirkaland
Satakunta SatakuntaSatakunta
South Karelia Etelä-KarjalaSödra Karelen
South Ostrobothnia Etelä-PohjanmaaSödra Österbotten
Etelä-Savo Etelä-SavoSödra Savolax
Southwest Finland Varsinais-SuomiEgentliga Finland
Kanta-Häme Kanta-HämeEgentliga Tavastland
Uusimaa UusimaaNyland
Åland [1] AhvenanmaaÅland

Municipalities

Some Finnish municipalities with endonyms in both Finnish and Swedish, the majority language of the municipality stands first:

Districts in cities and towns

Helsinki

Other towns and municipalities

In addition to Helsinki other bilingual towns and municipalities in Finland often have bilingual names for districts, villages, and places in nature, such as lakes and rivers. Some examples are:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Do note status as only autonomous region: Åland will officially only accept Swedish language.
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