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What's in a name? In contemporary Finland, a great deal, in that one's name can be a revealing clue to one's family history. In my own case, a knowledgeable observer could tell that my ancestors left the farm only after it became possible for a young man with an obviously old Finnish family name to get an education in his native language. Before that great change, which took place (roughly) in 1860–1920, a boy going to school was expected not only to learn new languages, primarily Swedish and Latin, but also in effect to forget his native Finnish, to the extent of adopting a Swedish or Latin surname. Hence my family name indicates a relatively recent entry into the ranks of the educated strata of Finnish society.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-3763-5_1

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