Greetings from Vantaa — Now in Virrat, 14 October 2015

Greetings from Vantaa! I am now back in Virrat.

The Kuulutko sukuuni fair went well. Good sales, good conversations. It was rewarding to meet people interested in genealogy and local history.

One surprise: the first serious feedback on the Karjalainen Karilainen book, published nearly ten years ago. Better late than never.

The conversation brought to mind the core argument of that book — my theory on the origin of the name Karjala. The conventional explanation derives it from the word karja (cattle). My alternative reading is directional: Karjala as a term meaning “behind” or “above” the main waterway route from the Gulf of Finland via the Neva into Lake Ladoga. The name would have been given by peoples living south of that route, for whom the Karelian lands lay beyond and above the waterway.

Support for this reading comes from parallel place names:

• Karjala parish lies above (north of) Mynämäki
• Karjaa (Swedish: Karis) lies “behind” Finland as seen from Estonia across the Gulf of Finland
• Karjalohja (Karislojo) is similarly positioned in relation to a waterway route

The naming logic is geographical and directional rather than pastoral. No herds needed — just the perspective of travellers on the water.

The discussion reminded me why I wrote the book in the first place. These questions about how Finland was named and settled are fascinating, and they intersect directly with genealogical research into the earliest recorded families.