Estonia Naming Customs

Online Resources

 * Estonian personal names - compiled by the United States Central Intelligence Agency in 1965
 * Behind the Name: Estonian Surnames
 * Behind the Name: Estonian Given Names
 * Estonian Cultural Index (EILI)
 * Most Common Last Names in Estonia
 * FamilySearch's surname experience - enter your last name to find its meaning and origin

Introduction
Family names in Estonia are important for researchers, as they often contain a great deal of information. These surnames can lead the researcher to the very commune (a relatively small administrative-territorial unit) the family lived and to associated archival records. The number of surnames in Estonia is quite large.

There are about 41,000 different names, about 29,000 of them can be localized in a concrete commune. The remaining 12,000 surnames can be determined by a parish, county, or neighboring parish or county. At the time when surnames were given, there were (on average) 12 different names per 100 people in Estonian parishes. There were approximately 29,000 unique surnames in Estonia. These names are more numerous in the southern province of Livonia. Unique surnames occurred most numerously on the Vormsi Island off the West-Estonian coast.

History
From 1822-1826 all peasants in South Estonia (the Livonian province) who had been liberated from serfdom were given family names. In 1835, this also happened in North Estonian (the Estonian province). In some places, this happened even earlier. The source of surnames for peasants were derived from their everyday world, including household commodities, seasons, clothing, farm names, occupations, and other such things. Based on the dialect, surnames may have different meanings. Surnames (or family names) are hereditary and are often common to all members of a family.

Interest in surnames started in the 1920s and 1930s. By appeal, local clergy provided data on about half of the family names registered in their congregations. Based on the initial data of the 1934 census, the state Central Bureau of Statistics compiled a catalog of already existing names. Unfortunately, this catalog was not thoroughly studied and only part of the original has survived.

Between 1935-1940 there was a major campaign for the Estonianization of family names. During this time, almost 200,000 people chose a new surname. Unfortunately, some family members chose different surnames or unrelated families chose the same surname, making it more difficult for researchers. Most surnames were derived from German or Russian names. Typically, names related to animals were discarded. Records of name changes could not be compiled at this time because of Soviet occupation in 1940. Some of these names have been compiled by Aadu Must (see www.history.ee/ono).

Research Strategy
Because of their great number, Estonian surnames can be effectively used in geographical surname distributions. Surnames can be distinguished by the region they cover; surnames may be localized to a parish, county, province, or the entire country. This can be extended to localized surnames throughout the world, which may help in migration questions. The distribution of surnames did not always follow administrative-territorial divisions; instead, surnames often followed existing cultural or dialectal areas or they followed geographic feature. For example, a surname may be generally found in a specific county or it may be found long a river or in a specific valley. Because of the amount and variety of Estonian surnames, it is said that the majority of these surnames can be localized quite exactly.

Surnames can also be used to detect migration patterns.

Name Change Records
Between 1830 and 1836 all Estonians received Estonian names. Prior to that time, the names were German, Russian, Swedish, etc. These records must be consulted to determine the old names in order to research parish registers before the 1830s. Records exist as a card file and application forms at the Central Civil Registration Archive, Tallinn. The forms give a person's old and new names.

For Further Reading

 * Estonian Personal Names

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: