Korhonen
| Language(s) | Finnish |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning | (uncertain, see text) and the common suffix -nen |
| Region of origin | Finland |
Korhonen is a surname originating in Finland, where it is the most common[1] surname. Before 2009, the most common surname in Finland was Virtanen but in 2009 the number of people with the surname Korhonen exceeded the number of people with the surname Virtanen for the first time.[2][3]
It is very likely a derivation of the word 'korho' which is mostly archaic in modern Finnish and as such it has no readily apparent meaning to most Finnish speakers. However, in languages closely related to Finnish such as Karelian, Estonian and Ludic the word 'korho' means "raised" or "upright". As an example of a word derived from this, the Karelian verb 'korhottaa' means "to be or move upright", "to have one's head up high", "to raise", "to shake threateningly", "to brandish" and "to listen attentively".
There are similar examples from Finnish dialects such as 'korhopää' from Pöytyä meaning roughly "one with a head of upright hair" and 'korholaiho' recorded from Ylistaro meaning "a crop growing upright". 'Korho' is also reported to carry a meaning of "proud", "rich" and/or "boastful" in the southern parts of Finnish Lapland. Also, in modern (both formal and colloquial) Finnish 'korottaa' means "to raise" and 'kohottaa' means "to elevate", "to uplift", "to hold up" and "to leaven" and also "to toast" when combined into 'kohottaa malja' meaning "to raise a goblet or a cup".
In some dialects, 'korho' is used to mean (a person) of poor hearing or (a person) lacking wit, which are quite apparently most likely derived from the "to listen attentively" meaning of the verb 'korhottaa'. Also, professor Alfred Salmela suggested in 1970 that the word 'korho' is a loan from the Baltic languages and that it has meant "old, village elder or chief".
The name originates from Eastern Finland and is much older than its closest competitor for the title of the most common Finnish surname, Virtanen.
People with the surname
- Aku Korhonen (1892−1960), Finnish actor
- Erkki Korhonen (born 1956), Finnish director of opera, pianist
- Gunnar Korhonen (1918–2001), Finnish economist, government minister
- Janne Korhonen (taekwondo) (born 1970), Finnish taekwondoin
- Janne Korhonen (football) (born 1979), Finnish footballer
- Kari Korhonen (born 1973), Finnish cartoonist
- Keijo Korhonen (politician) (born 1934), Finnish politician (foreign minister) and professor
- Keijo Korhonen (ski jumper) (born 1956), Finnish ski jumper
- Markus Korhonen (born 1975), Finnish ice hockey player
- Martti Korhonen (born 1953), Finnish member of parliament
- Paavo Korhonen (1928–2019), Finnish Nordic combined skier
- Pekka Korhonen (born 1955), Finnish political scientist and professor
- Pentti Korhonen (born 1951), Finnish motorcycle racer
- Sami Tapani Korhonen [fi] (born 1977), Finnish fashion designer
- Urpo Korhonen (1923–2009), Finnish cross-country skier
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
References
- ^ As of October 2010[update], "Most common surnames"[dead link], Finnish Population Register Center Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine (English version), verkkopalvelut.vrk.fi/Nimipalvelu
- ^ Mykkänen, Juhani & Similä, Ville: Korhoset murskaavat Virtaset. Helsingin Sanomat, 3.7.2009, pp. 6–9. (in Finnish)
- ^ Suomen yleisin sukunimi on yhä Korhonen – perässä seuraavat Virtanen ja Mäkinen nyhjättiin aikoinaan tyhjästä MTV3, 22.11.2020 (in Finnish)