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.


Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Kiwi
Griffin
Pledge
reminds me of the story of the guy who, as he walked about his office, to and from the copier, or lunch, ect., found all his work mates had cans collecting for the march of dime, cancer care, homeless children..

so one day he put a can on his desk for For Ireland's Children..

things went fine until new management came in and put name tag signs on everyones desk.. and John Ireland's jig was up!



Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Then there was the Finnish dancer, Tommi Tangonen ...



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#59912 03/07/02 07:57 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409

#59913 03/07/02 08:12 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Oh, well, tsuwm, so I misread it. That's because I'm left-handed living on the wrong side of the world.


Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
I'd tell you what the car wax said to the furniture wax but it's now politically incorrect to tell polish jokes.



TEd
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
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