Finnish Names

A lovely and typical name on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Bothnia that no one in the English-speaking world will know how to pronounce. Maia sounds (virtually) the same and is far more familiar outside Finland and Latvia.

Malin is multicultural name with many possible sources,. As a female name, Malin is popular throughout Scandinavia, a form of Magdalene. The male version has several theoretical roots. One of them is the multicultural surname Malin, which may be a matronymic descending from Magdalene or Mary or may be derived from an Irish surname meaning pleasant. In India, Malin is a male Sanskrit name meaning crowned or alternately, flower or gardener. Some may see it as a simplified spelling of the Biblical Mahlon. At once simple and unusual, the name Malin was given to 17 baby girls in the US last year but fewer than five baby boys.

Foreign variations of Mary are definitely the way to go; this one has a nice Dutch-girl feel. It also works as a cultural crossover name, e.g. between European languages and Japanese.

A Dutch, Finnish and Sorbian form of Mary, which also happens to mean "berry" in Finnish, giving it a sweet naturey charm.

The single T version of Matias is, like Mateo, the Spanish variation of the Hebrew Biblical Matthias or Matthew, while the double T version as in Mattias and Matteo is usually Italian.

We like Matti in theory, but in practice it’s likely to get confused for the girlish Maddie.

Mika is a Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. As a male name, it's a short form of Mikael, the Scandinavian and Finnish form of Michael. Both are spelled and pronounced the same.

Cute Finnish version of Michael.

Onni is the Number 1 boy's name in Finland yet largely unknown in the English-speaking world. Its uplifting meaning makes it a plausible possibility if you want to honor your Nordic heritage.

Oona is a name made famous by Eugene O'Neill's daughter, who became Charlie Chaplin's wife. One of the original Oona's granddaughters was named after her, and is now an actress famous in her own right for playing Talisa of Volantis in HBO's "Game of Thrones." The double-o beginning gives their name a lot of oomph.

The Finnish form of Peter was most common in its culture of origin in the 1950s and '60s.

The one-named singer clarified the confusing pronunciation on this one (in her case, it's shah-DAY), but a number of parents have looked for more phonetic spellings. The Finnish version means "rain."