Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#59900 03/06/02 04:40 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Jackie Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
I wrote to a friend the other day about having met an exchange student from Finland whose last name ended with --konen. He wrote back and said that's pretty common there. Just now I got a forwarded e-mail that had originated in Helsinki, by someone whose last name ends in -ponen. Are these two endings variations on a theme? Is there an English translation?


#59901 03/06/02 04:52 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
B
old hand
Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
No help on the translation, Jackie, but I did notice that a lot of Finnish names end the same way. To wit: names of NHL players from Finland: Teppo Numminen, Esa Tikkanen, [can't remember] Hakkanen? Clearly a theme here. Wild guess - the -nen ending might be like -son (Sweden) or -sen (Norway) - son of?


#59902 03/07/02 01:42 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
D
addict
Offline
addict
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
William Shake...


#59903 03/07/02 01:55 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
G
old hand
Offline
old hand
G
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
Then there's the Finnish auto mechanic, Valvo Grindenen, and his daughter, Valvoline.


#59904 03/07/02 03:03 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Jackie,
At first I assumed they were patronymics, but upon a quick google, learned they are more likely possessives of "farm names." Finnish families, apparently, were identified by the name of the farm they belonged to. Some have since evolved into patronymic surnames, take a look:

http://www.engr.uvic.ca/~syli/geneo/farmnames.html


#59905 03/07/02 03:40 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
from the same site, But, if a current Finnish surname
does not end in "nen" then it is very likely that it was originally a farm name...


here's another discussion:
http://www.genealogia.fi/emi/art/article216e.htm


#59906 03/07/02 03:48 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
MAACO
Sherwin - Williams
Armorall



TEd
#59907 03/07/02 04:00 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
TEd, you forgot Nokia.


#59908 03/07/02 05:55 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Sounds like someone's idea of a hangup to me.



TEd
#59909 03/07/02 06:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
That's it, TEd. I'm Finnished with your smart remarks.


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 332 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5