#me thinks pacific might be a little biased against finns. at least central loves us </3

[ilmaveivi]

The Etymology of Finnish NHL Players a.k.a What Do Their Names Mean?

PACIFIC DIVISION 2023-2024

ANAHEIM DUCKS

URHO VAAKANAINEN

URHO /ˈurho/

A Finnish name derived from a Proto-Finnic word meaning ”man”. A poetic Finnish word meaning ”hero”.

VAAKANAINEN /ˈʋɑːkɑnɑi̯nen/

A Karelian surname based on several Orthodox given names derived from the Greek name Bakchos, meaning ”to shout”. A Finnish homonym for ”scales woman”.

SAN JOSE SHARKS

MIKAEL GRANLUND

MIKAEL /ˈmi.kɑ.el/

Derived from the Hebrew name Mikha’el, meaning ”who is like God?”.

GRANLUND /ˈɡrɑːn.lund/

A topographic Swedish surname meaning ”spruce grove”.

KAAPO KÄHKÖNEN

KAAPO /ˈkɑː.po/

Derived from the Hebrew name Gavri’el, meaning "God is my strong man”.

KÄHKÖNEN /ˈkæh.kø.nen/

A Savonian and Karelian surname possibly derived from the Finnish word käheä, meaning ”hoarse”.

SEATTLE KRAKEN

EELI TOLVANEN

EELI /ˈeː.li/

Derived from the Hebrew name Eli, meaning ”ascension”.

TOLVANEN /ˈtol.ʋɑ.nen/

A Savonian and Karelian surname possibly based on a given name derived from the Old German name Adalwolf, meaning "noble wolf”.

NOTES:

During the 12th century, the tradition of Finnish given names was lost due to the Christianization of Finland under the Swedish rule. By the 16th century only Christian names were accepted, which is why Finnish forms of Christian names are still widely popular in Finland despite the society being fairly secular. The tradition of native Finnish given names wasn’t revived until the 19th century. 

Most Finnish surnames end in suffixes -nen or -la/-lä. The collective suffix -nen, which is more common in Eastern Finnish surnames, indicates belonging to a certain family or clan. The suffix -la/-lä, which is more common in Western Finnish surnames, creates oikonyms from the names of places, farms or small villages.

Karelia and Karelian can be used to refer to a geographical place, language, dialect or people. It is important to note that Karelian is its own language separate from Finnish. However, the Finnish language also has a Karelian dialect that is spoken in the Finnish Karelia. Finnish surnames originating from Karelia have likely been influenced by both Karelian and Finnish.

The IPA forms follow Finnish phonology even with foreign (Swedish, Russian etc.) names in approximation to how an average Finn pronounces them.

The source for most of the given names is Behind The Name. The topographic surnames are direct translations. The explanations for the rest of the surnames are either from Finnish Wiktionary or based on speculation by Finnish genealogy enthusiasts, hence the overuse of the word "possibly".

Feedback is welcome. If you have additions or notice any mistakes, please let me know!