In 2025, new names will once again be added to the almanac in Finland. The name day calendar for Finnish-speakers will add 33 new names, and the calendar for Swedish-speakers will add 27.
Among the 33 names now added to the Finnish calendar, some are old names that are making a comeback, such as Aamos, Linus and Rolf. Many of the new names are variants of existing almanac names, such as Alissa, Lili, Livia and Marju, or Eppu, Ilja, Jasu, Jose and Miki. Some international names have also been added to the calendar, such as Camilla and Jessica, or Kevin, Mio and Neo.
“When it comes to public figures, both Camilla, the Queen of England, and the rapper Cheek aka Jare Tiihonen will both have their names in the calendar,” says Saarelma-Paukkala.
As was the case in the previous reform in 2020, none of the new names are based on the Finnish language. In 2015, however, name days were given to both Taika and Sisu.
“Finnish naming trends have clearly become more international. This is why we have now accepted several names with a foreign spelling, such as Jessica instead of Jessika, and Linus instead of Liinus,” Saarelma-Paukkala says.
27 new names added to the Swedish calendar
This time, the reform of the Swedish calendar was not quite as extensive as in 2020 when approval was given to 38 new names.
Many of the new names in the Swedish calendar have origins in the English-speaking world, such as Caspian, Elvin, Tristan and Morris. Several of them end with “-ton”, such as Aston, Elton and Winston. As Italian representatives, there are Sienna, Matteo and Luca.
“Some Scandinavian names will also be added to the calendar, such as Tova and Joar, both of which can be found already in old runestones. Then there are Line and Lykke, which have been loaned from Norway and Denmark,” Leila Mattfolk says.
Some of the new names have literary references.
“For example, Caspian, the prince from The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, was placed on the same day as Ronja,My and Mio, which are familiar from the children’s books by Astrid Lindgren and Tove Jansson,” Mattfolk says.
Reforms every five years
Name day reforms are now made every five years. The reforms are carried out by the University of Helsinki, which has the copyright to the Finnish name day lists. For 2025, the reform was prepared by Docent of Onomastics Minna Saarelma-Paukkala and Doctor of Philosophy Leila Mattfolk. The reform was approved by Sari Lindblom, Rector of the University of Helsinki.
The 2025 changes were based on material from 2020 containing the first forenames of all Finnish- and Swedish-speaking Finns who were alive at the start of 2018. This material was then supplemented with the first forenames of children born in Finland during 2018–2022. The materials came from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
As the basic condition for being added to the Finnish calendar, at least 500 women or men with the name had to be found in the materials. There were a total of 26,131 Finnish speakers bearing the new names. For the Swedish calendar, the limit was 50 name bearers, amounting to 1,751 Swedish-speakers who have one of the new names listed in the materials.
“Another important principle is that the names are placed on the same day in both calendars. For example, you can find Camilla and Linus marked on the same day in both the Finnish and Swedish calendar in 2025,” Minna Saarelma-Paukkala says.
New Finnish calendar names in 2025
Female names (18)
Alissa, Alva, Amelia, Camilla, Elea, Jessica, Juulia, Kira, Lili, Lilia, Lilian, Livia, Marju, Milena, Mona, Siina, Sinna, Vivian
Male names (15)
Aamos, Eppu, Ilja, Jare, Jasu, Jose, Kaius, Kevin, Leon, Linus, Martin, Miki, Mio, Neo, Rolf
New Swedish calendar names in 2025
Female names (14)
Bea, Celine, Edla, Elisa, Emilie, Fiona, Line, Lykke, Malva, Melanie, Mila, Sienna, Tova, Venla
Male names (13)
Aston, Caspian, Dominic, Elton, Elvin, Joar, Julian, Luca, Marius, Matteo, Morris, Tristan, Winston
Further information:
Docent of Onomastics Minna Saarelma-Paukkala, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)2 9412 2947
Doctor of Philosophy Leila Mattfolk, [email protected], tel. +358 (0)40 701 6165.