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Names of places in Finland in Finnish and in Swedish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Regions

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English name (often the same as the Finnish name) Finnish name Swedish name
Central Finland Keski-Suomi Mellersta Finland
Central Ostrobothnia Keski-Pohjanmaa Mellersta Österbotten
Kainuu Kainuu Kajanaland
Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso Kymmenedalen
Lapland Lappi Lappland
North Karelia Pohjois-Karjala Norra Karelen
North Ostrobothnia Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Norra Österbotten
Pohjois-Savo Pohjois-Savo Norra Savolax
Ostrobothnia Pohjanmaa Österbotten
Päijät-Häme Päijät-Häme Päijänne-Tavastland
Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa Birkaland
Satakunta Satakunta Satakunta
South Karelia Etelä-Karjala Södra Karelen
South Ostrobothnia Etelä-Pohjanmaa Södra Österbotten
Etelä-Savo Etelä-Savo Södra Savolax
Southwest Finland Varsinais-Suomi Egentliga Finland
Kanta-Häme Kanta-Häme Egentliga Tavastland
Uusimaa Uusimaa Nyland
Åland[1] Ahvenanmaa Åland

Municipalities

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

Districts in cities and towns

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Helsinki

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Other towns and municipalities

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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:

  • Finnish Lohjanjärvi / Swedish Lojo sjö (Lake in Uusimaa)
  • Finnish Kymijoki / Swedish Kymmene älv (River in Kymenlaakso)
  • Finnish Lauttaranta / Swedish Färjstranden (Suburb in Turku)

See also

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References

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