There is an urban legend that when the Swedish map makers came to Finland the locals would mess with them when asked what a pace was called and that is why so many place names have “vittu” or “perse” etc. in them.
this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2025
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Also they named Turku just Åbo.
Åbo.
Swedish "å" is an entire word meaning;
a river, a creek, a big stream
"Bo"
bo n
**a dwelling** (of an animal), especially a bird's nest
fågelbo
bird’s nest
att bygga bo
to build a nest / to nest ("build nest" – idiomatic phrasing)
(poetic, extended from sense 1) **a home**
sätta bo
settle down
So it's a three letter word basically saying river-dwelling
I think rather than ask Finns what a place was named they just named them themselves. Perhaps because they were tired of the locals calling everything shit and piss. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yer da sells Avon.
Fun fact: copper got its roman name because the main exporter of that good in ye classic times was the island of Cyprus (Kyprus, cuprum)
ye classic times
The letter you're using y to stand in for is available on computers and phones: þ (thorn). It makes the same sound as "th" in "that". The other letter "th" replaced was ð (eth) which makes the sound "th" in "something"
One wonders how many inhabited planets in the universe are referred to by the locals as "Dirt."
Not really true. (the Roman misunderstanding part)
Well that clears things up.