Finnish exonyms

Below is a list of Finnish language exonyms for places in non-Finnish-speaking areas:

Note that the Finnish language inflects place names where English use prepositions like in and to. These variants can affect any place name and are inflections, not exonyms. For example Mene Birminghamiin means Go to Birmingham.

General[]

Foreign place names containing a direction such as South or Upper are often translated, e.g.:

North Carolina → Pohjois-Carolina; Upper Volta → Ylä-Volta

Belgium[]

Belgium Belgia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Brussels	Bryssel	Brussel	Dutch
		Bruxelles	French

China[]

China Kiina
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Beijing	Peking
Guangzhou	Kanton
Nanjing	Nanking

Cuba[]

Cuba Kuuba
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Havana	Havanna	La Habana	Spanish

Cyprus[]

Cyprus Kypros
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Nicosia	Nikosia	Lefkoşa	Turkish
		Levkosía	Greek

Denmark[]

Denmark Tanska
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Copenhagen	Kööpenhamina	København	Danish
Jutland	Juutinmaa, Jyllanti	Jylland	Danish

Egypt[]

Egypt Egypti
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Alexandria	Aleksandria	Al-Iskandariyya	Standard Arabic
Aswan	Assuan	Aswān	Standard Arabic
Cairo	Kairo	Al-Qahirah	Standard Arabic
Nile river	Niili	an-Nīl	Standard Arabic

Estonia[]

Estonian and Finnish are quite closely related and share many words that differ only slightly, such as saar (Estonian) and saari (Finnish) for island. Many Estonian toponyms and even people's names are simply translated into Finnish as if they were Finnish words, creating an unlimited number of potentially existing exonyms. Below are only some frequently encountered examples of these, as well as those where the difference is significant.

Estonia Viro
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Emajõgi	Emajoki	Emajõgi	Estonian
Hiiumaa	Hiidenmaa	Hiiumaa	Estonian
Lämmijärv	Kuumajärvi	Lämmijärv	Estonian
Lake Peipus	Peipsijärvi	Peipsi järv	Estonian
Lake Pihkva	Pihkovanjärvi	Pihkva järv	Estonian
Lake Ülemiste	Ülemistejärvi	Ülemiste järv	Estonian
Naissaar	Naissaari	Naissaar	Estonian
Narva river	Narvanjoki	Narva jõgi	Estonian
Reval	Rääveli	Rävala	Estonian	Archaic
Saaremaa	Saarenmaa	Saaremaa	Estonian
Suur Munamägi	Iso Munamäki	Suur Munamägi	Estonian
Tallinn	Tallinna	Tallinn	Estonian
Tartu	Tartto	Tartu	Estonian
Võrtsjärv	Võrtsjärvi	Võrtsjärv	Estonian

Finland[]

Finland Suomi
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Åland	Ahvenanmaa	Åland	Swedish
Bergö	Susiluoto	Bergö	Swedish
Brandö	Präntiö	Brandö	Swedish
Delet	Teili	Delet	Swedish
Hammarland	Hammarlanti	Hammarland	Swedish
Karlby	Kaarlenkylä	Karlby	Swedish
Kökar	Köökari[1]	Kökar	Swedish
Korsnäs	Korsnääsi, Ristitaipale[2]	Korsnäs	Swedish
Korsö	Koskenpää	Korsö	Swedish
Kumlinge	Kumlinki	Kumlinge	Swedish
Lappvesi		Lappvesi	Swedish
Lemland	Lemlanti[3]	Lemland	Swedish
Liljendal	Liljentaali	Liljendal	Swedish
Lumparland	Lumparlanti[4]	Lumparland	Swedish
Mariehamn	Maarianhamina[5]	Mariehamn	Swedish
Lumparn	Lumpari	Lumparn	Swedish
Sålis	Suolaksi	Sålis	Swedish

The Swedish names for the above are commonly (if not exclusively) used in modern-day Finnish.^[6] Korsnäs in Ostrobothnia should not be confused with other locations in Finland with the same name (see Korsnäs (disambiguation)).

Areas with both Finnish-, and Swedish-speaking inhabitants have endonymic place names in both languages. Due to changing demographics, some monolingually Swedish areas have historical Finnish names inherited from earlier Finnish-speaking inhabitants. For example, Molpe, a village of Korsnäs is Moikipää in Finnish.

France[]

France Ranska
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Corsica	Korsika	Corse	French
Nice	Nizza	Nice	French
Paris	Pariisi	Paris	French

Germany[]

Germany Saksa
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Bavaria	Baijeri	Bayern	German
Berlin	Berliini
Danube river	Tonava	Donau
Hamburg	Hampuri
Lübeck	Lyypekki
Prussia	Preussi	Preußen	German	historic state
Rhine river	Rein	Rhein
Rheinland	Reininmaa
Saxony	Saksi	Sachsen	German

Greece[]

Ancient transcriptions that do not reflect modern pronunciation are used in some cases, e.g. Herakleion ("Iraklion").

Greece Kreikka
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Athens	Ateena	Athína	Greek
Corfu	Korfu	Kerkýra	Greek
Crete	Kreeta	Kríti	Greek
Piraeus	Pireus	Piraiás	Greek

Iran[]

Iran
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Tehrān	Teheran	Tehrān	Persian

Israel[]

Israel
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Dead sea	Kuollutmeri	Al-Bahr al-Mayyit	Arabic
		Yam ha-Melah	Hebrew
Jerusalem	Jerusalem	Al-Quds	Arabic
		Yerushalayim	Hebrew

Italy[]

Italy Italia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Pompeii	Pompeiji		Pompeii	Latin	ancient city
Pompei	Italian
Rome	Rooma	Roma	Italian
Sicily	Sisilia	Sicilia	Italian
Venice	Venetsia	Venezia	Italian

Latvia[]

Latvia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Daugava river	Väinäjoki	Daugava	Latvian
Daugavpils	Väinänlinna	Daugavpils	Latvian
Riga	Riika	Rīga	Latvian
Salacgrīva	Salatsi	Salacgrīva	Latvian
Valka	Valga	Valka	Latvian

Lebanon[]

Lebanon Libanon
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Beqaa Valley	Bekaanlaakso	Wādī l-Biqā'	Arabic
Mount Hermon	Hermonvuori	Har Hermon	Hebrew
		Jabal al-Shaykh, Jabal Haramun	Arabic
Mount Lebanon range	Libanonvuoret	Ṭūr Levnon	Syriac
		Jabal Lubnān	Arabic
Tripoli	Tripoli, Tripolis	Ṭarābulus	Arabic
Tyre	Tyros, Tyyros	Ṣūr	Arabic, Phoenician

Lithuania[]

Lithuania Liettua
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Vilnius	Vilna	Vilnius	Lithuanian

Norway[]

For further names, see : Finnish exonyms for places in Norway

Norway Norja
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Alta	Alattio
Bjørnøya	Karhusaari
Bouvetøya	Bouvet'nsaari
Bugøynes	Pyke(ij)ä
Danskøya	Tanskansaari
Dronning Maud Land	Kuningatar Maudin maa
Jakobselva	Annijoki
Karasjok	Kaarasjoki
Kautokeino	Koutokeino
Kirkenes	Kirkkoniemi
Kong Karls Land	Kuningas Kaarlen maa
Kvitøya	Koillismaa
Leavdnja	Lemmijoki
Leavdnjajohka	Lemmijoki
Leavdnjavuotna	Lemmivuono
Lofoten	Lofootit
Malangen	Malankivuono
Nordaustlandet	Koillismaa
Nordraisa	Raisi
Peter I Øy	Pietari I:n saari
Polmak	Pulmanki
Porsanger	Porsanki
Prins Karls Fo	Prinssi Kaarlen etumaa
Prins Harald Kyst	Prinssi Haraldin rannikko
Prins Oscars Land	Prinssi Oscarin maa
Prinsesse Ragnhild Kyst	Prinsessa Ragnhildin rannikko
Sjøyane	Länsimaa
Skibotn	Yykeänperä
Sør-Varanger	Etelä-Varanki
Spitsbergen	Länsimaa
Svalbard	Huippuvuoret
Tana	Teno
Tana bru	Tenon kylä
Tanafjord	Tenonvuono
Tromsø	Tromssa
Vadsø	Vesisaari
Vardø	Vuoreija	Vuorea	Kven
Vestfjord	Länsivuono

Poland[]

Poland Puola
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Kraków	Krakova	Kraków	Polish
Warsaw	Varsova	Warzawa	Polish
Vistula river	Veiksel	Wisła	Polish

Portugal[]

Portugal Portugali
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Lisbon	Lissabon	Lisboa	Portuguese

Romania[]

Romania
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Bucharest	Bukarest	București	Romanian

Russia[]

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008)

Note that Finnish was formerly an official language in the Republic of Karelia and is still widely used there, and some places in what was Finnish territory until World War II have been given new Russian names; thus, Finnish names of Karelian places are not all strictly exonyms.

Russia Venäjä
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Apatity	Apatiitti
Arkhangelsk	Arkangeli, Vienankaupunki
Belomorsk	Sorokka
Beloostrov	Valkeasaari
Bolshaya Izhora	Haisevaisi
Bolshoy Tyuters	Tytärsaari
Borisoglebsky	Kolttaköngäs
Chudovo	Tšudovo, Tiutova
Gatchina	Hatsina
Gubanicy	Kupanitsa
Hogland, Gogland	Suursaari
Ivangorod	Iivananlinna
Izhora	Inkere
Kamennogorsk	Antrea
Kandalakshi	Kantalahti, Kannanlahti
Kem	(Vienan) Kemi
Kingisepp	Jaama
Kirovsk	Hiipinä
Kobrino	Koprina
Kola	Kuola
Kolpany	Kolppana
Koltushi	Keltto
Komarovo	Kellomäki
Kondopoga	Kontupohja	Kondupohju	Karelian
Koporka	Kaprionjoki
Koporye	Kaprio
Kostomuksha	Kostamus	Koštamuš	Karelian
Kotlin	Retusaari
Kotly	Kattila
Kovdor	Koutero
Kovdozero	Kananen
Kronshtadt	Kronstadt, Kronstatti
Kurovitsy	Kukkosi	Kukkuzi	Votic
Kuyto	Kuittijärvet
Kuzyomkino	Kosemkina, Narvusi
Lake Ilmen	Ilmajärvi
Lake Kolvitskoye	Kolvitsanjärvi
Lake Kovdozero	Koutajärvi
Lake Keret	Kierettijärvi
Lake Lämmi	Kuumajärvi	Tyopoloye ozero	Russian
Lake Ladoga	Laatokka, Nevajärvi
Lake Leksozero	Lieksajärvi
Lake Lovozero	Luujärvi
Lake Nyuk	Nuokkijärvi
Lake Onega	Ääninen, Äänisjärvi	Änine, Änižjärv	Veps
		Oniegu(-järve)	Karelian
Lake Pyaozero	Pääjärvi
Lake Segozero	Seesjärvi
Lake Syamozero	Säämäjärvi	Seämärvi	Karelian
Lake Topozero	Tuoppajärvi
Lake Tolvayarvi	Tolvajärvi
Lake Tulos	Tuulijärvi
Lake Yaglyarvi	Ägläjärvi
Lake Yanisyarvi	Jänisjärvi
Lake Vodlozero	Vodlajärvi
Lake Vygozero	Uikujärvi
Lebyazhye	Lepäsi
Lembolovo	Lempaala
Lisino	Liissilä
Lodeynoye Pole	Lotinapelto, Pellonlinna
Luga	Laukaa, Ylä-Laukaa
Markovo	Markkova, Loppi, Lopenkolkka
Martyshkino	Tyrö
Medvezhyegorsk	Karhumäki	Karhumägi	Karelian
Mga	Namkku[7]
Moloskovitsy	Valkeakirkko, Moloskovitsa
Moscow	Moskova	Moskva	Russian
Moshchny	Lavansaari
Murmansk	Muurmanni, Muurmanski
Nikel	Nikkeli, Kolosjoki
Nikolskoye	Lomkka
Nikulyasy	Miikkulainen
Novaya Ladoga	Uusi-Laatokka, Uusi Laatokankaupunki
Novosyolki	Novasolkka
Nyenschantz	Nevanlinna	Nyenskans, Nyen	Swedish	Former Swedish Ingrian town and fortress
Olonets	Aunuksenkaupunki, Aunuksenlinna, Aunus	Anuksenlinnu	Karelian
Onega	Ääninen
Oranienbaum	Kaarosta
Osinovaya Rossha	Haapakangas
Pechenga	Petsamo
Pechory	Petseri
Petergof	Pietarhovi, Kuusoja
Petrozavodsk	Petroskoi; Äänislinna			Latter name used during 1941–1944
Povenets	Poventsa	Povenča	Karelian
Priozersk	Käkisalmi
Pskov	Pihkova
Pudozh	Puudosi, Puutoinen, Puudoži	Pudož	Veps
		Puudoži	Karelian
Repino	Kuokkala
Ropsha	Ropsu
Ryabovo	Rääpyvä
Saint Petersburg	Pietari	Sankt Peterburg	Russian
Segezha	Sege(h)e, Seke(h)e
Seskar	Seiskari
Siberia	Siperia	Sibír'	Russian
Sestroretsk	Siestarjoki
Shlisselburg	Pähkinälinna, Pähkinäsaari	Schlüsselburg	German
Shlisselburg Fortress	Pähkinäsaaren linna	Oreshek	Russian
Skvoritsy	Skuoritsa, Kuoritsa
Slavyanka	Venjoki
Soikino	Soikkola
Sosnovy Bor	Uustia
Staraya Ladoga	Laatokankaupunki, Laatokanlinna, Vanha-Laatokka
Stolbovo	Stolbova
Svetogorsk	Enso
Svir	Syväri
Svobodnoye	Kirvu
Syas	Säsjoki
Tikhvin	Tihvinä
Tikhvinka river	Tihvinänjoki
Toksovo	Toksova
Tosno	Tusina, Tosna
Tyaglino	Tääkeli, Tääkkeli
Ust-Luga	Laukaansuu
Volkhov	Olhava
Vsevolozhsk	Seuloskoi
Vuoly	Vuole
Vyborg	Viipuri	Viborg	Swedish
Vyborgskiy zaliv	Viipurinlahti
Vyg	Uikujoki
Yarvosol	Järvisaari
Zelenogorsk	Terijoki
Zemlyanoye	Pummanki
Zherebyatki	Serepetta

Saudi Arabia[]

Saudi Arabia Saudi-Arabia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Mecca	Mekka	Makkah	Arabic
Riyadh	Riad	Riyaḍ	Arabic

Serbia[]

Serbia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Belgrade	Belgrad	Beograd	Serbian

South Africa[]

South Africa Etelä-Afrikka
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Cape Town	Kapkaupunki
Cape of Good Hope	Hyväntoivonniemi

Spain[]

Spain Espanja
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Tenerife	Teneriffa	Tenerife	Spanish

Sweden[]

Northern Sweden has a Finnish/Meänkieli-speaking minority and thus some place names are derived from Finnish, making them not exonyms.

Sweden Ruotsi
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Dalecarlia	Taalainmaa	Dalarna	Swedish
Gällivare	Jällivaara, Jellivaara	Gällivare	Swedish	Jellivaara is the Meänkieli form
Haparanda	Haaparanta	Haparanda	Swedish	Founded with Finnish name
Jokkmokk	Jokimukka	Jokkmokk	Swedish
Kalix	Kainuu	Kalix	Swedish
Kiruna	Kiiruna	Kiruna	Swedish
Korpilombolo	Korpilompolo	Korpilombolo	Swedish
Luleå	Luulaja	Luleå	Swedish
Överkalix	Ylikainuu	Överkalix	Swedish
Övertorneå	Matarenki	Övertorneå	Swedish
Piteå	Piitime	Piteå	Swedish
Scania	Skoone	Skåne	Swedish
Stockholm	Tukholma	Stockholm	Swedish
Svanstein	Turtola	Svanstein	Swedish
Tärendö	Täräntö	Tärendö	Swedish
Umeå	Uumaja	Umeå	Swedish
Uppsala	Upsala	Uppsala	Swedish

Switzerland[]

Switzerland Sveitsi
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Geneva	Geneve	Genf	German
		Genève	French

Syria[]

Syria Syyria
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Damascus	Damaskos	Dimašq	Arabic
Latakia	Lattakia	Al-Laḏiqiyah	Arabic

Turkey[]

Turkey Turkki
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Istanbul	Konstantinopoli	İstanbul	Turkish	historic
		Konstantinoúpolis	Greek
Troy	Troija	Truva (Troya)	Turkish	ancient city

Ukraine[]

Ukraine Ukraina
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Kharkiv	Harkova	Kharkiv	Ukrainian
Kyiv	Kiova	Kyiv	Ukrainian
Poltava	Pultava	Poltava	Ukrainian

United Kingdom[]

United Kingdom Iso-Britannia
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
London	Lontoo	London	English

United States[]

United States Yhdysvallat
English name	Finnish name	Endonym		Notes
		Name	Language
Hawai'i	Havaiji	Hawai'i	Hawai'ian

See also[]

• List of European exonyms

References[]