The last name of Finnish moderne designer/architect makes an original, creative choice with an unexpected water-related meaning. 

Aalto

A bright-sounding name with multicultural appeal, used regularly as a first name in Japan, Scandinavia, Latvia, and Spain.
 
The Yoruba name Aina, pronounced ah-ee-NAH, is traditionally used for baby girls born with the umbilical cord around their neck.

Aina

A popular choice in Finland, where it ranks among the Top 50 boy names.

Akseli

Anja is one of the most internatioanl of several versions of Ann/Anna now being imported, also including Anya and Annika.
 Anja is heard in several European cultures, including Germany, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries--and it has a variety of pronunciations.
 Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio has a daughter called Anja, as does former Bachelor Andrew Firestone.

Anja

Anneli is one of the hundreds of Anne variations with an intriguing spelling. This name has been popular throughout Scandinavia over time and would certainly translate easily to English-speaking countries.

Anneli

Anniina

Annikki

Arto

Arvo is a simple name virtually unknown in the US and UK that might get discovered thanks to the surprise popularity of Arlo.

Arvo

Aatos

Ahti

Aino

Altti

Anna-Liisa

Antti

Arja

Classic Scandinavian form of Bridget. Saint Birgitta of Sweden is the patron saint of Europe.

Birgitta

Creative gem perfect for an architect's son, in tribute to modern Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. 

Eero

Eino

Eelis

Eija

Eliina

Enni

Hannu

Heikki

A name that's unknown in the US and Britain but is popular as a nature name in Finland. May also be known as a Hungarian variation of Amelia and a Spanish form of Wilhelmina.

 Ilma also appears in Tolkien's legendarium as a Quenya name meaning "starlight". It could be a good choice for lovers of literature who want something less on-the-nose than Arwen or Éowyn.

Ilma

Ilona has never been used much in the U.S. and is not a likely candidate for success. 

Ilona

Iikka

Impi

Jaakko

Jaakoppi

Jukka

This attractive multicultural name is found in India and Finland, where it is also a word meaning "frost."

Kirsi

Kaliva

Lars is a perfect candidate for a cross-cultural passport: it has been heard often enough here to sound familiar and friendly, yet retains the charisma of a charming foreigner.
 In this country Lars has been particularly associated with two Danes--Metallica's Lars Ulrich and film director Lars von Trier. In the 2007 movie Lars and the Real Girl, protagonist Lars Lindstrom was played by Ryan Gosling.

Lars

Lempi

This nickname-name is very popular in Germany, though Lottie is still the preferred version in the US. The problem, of course, is that you'll have to put up with a lotta jokes. See?

Lotta

Lumi may be a rare <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' name</a> in the USA and England, but it comes in the Top 50 in Finland, where it means snow. Given the popularity of Winter, Holly, Ivy and many other wintery-christmassy names, we think that short and spunky Lumi definitely has potential for greater usage outside its home country as one of the more unusual <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>.

Lumi

Lahja

Lyyti

A lovely and typical name on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Bothnia that no one in the English-speaking world will know how to pronounce. Maia sounds (virtually) the same and is far more familiar outside Finland and Latvia.

Maija

Malin is multicultural name with many possible sources,. As a female name, Malin is popular throughout Scandinavia, a form of Magdalene. The male version has several theoretical roots. One of them is the multicultural surname Malin, which may be a matronymic descending from Magdalene or Mary or may be derived from an Irish surname meaning pleasant. In India, Malin is a male Sanskrit name meaning crowned or alternately, flower or gardener. Some may see it as a simplified spelling of the Biblical Mahlon.

At once simple and unusual, the name Malin was given to 17 baby girls in the US last year but fewer than five baby boys.

Malin

Foreign variations of Mary are definitely the way to go; this one has a nice Dutch-girl feel. It also works as a cultural crossover name, e.g. between European languages and Japanese.

Marika

A Dutch, Finnish and Sorbian form of Mary, which also happens to mean "berry" in Finnish, giving it a sweet naturey charm.

Marja

Marjo

The single T version of Matias is, like Mateo, the Spanish variation of the Hebrew Biblical Matthias or Matthew, while the double T version as in Mattias and Matteo is usually Italian.

Matias

We like Matti in theory, but in practice it’s likely to get confused for the girlish Maddie.

Matti

Mika is a Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. As a male name, it's a short form of Mikael, the Scandinavian and Finnish form of Michael. Both are spelled and pronounced the same.

Mika

Mikko

Maarit

Maritta

Miska

Onni is the Number 1 boy's name in Finland yet largely unknown in the English-speaking world.  Its uplifting meaning makes it a plausible possibility if you want to honor your Nordic heritage.

Onni

Oona is a name made famous by Eugene O'Neill's daughter, who became Charlie Chaplin's wife. One of the original Oona's granddaughters was named after her, and is now an actress famous in her own right for playing Talisa of Volantis in HBO's "Game of Thrones." The double-o beginning gives their name a lot of oomph.
 In Irish legend, Una/Oona was a daughter of a king of Lochlainn. The name was very popular in Ireland in the Middle Ages, and is currently seeing a comeback--also spelled Oonagh.

Oona

Oiva

Paavali

The Finnish form of Peter was most common in its culture of origin in the 1950s and '60s.

Pekka

Paiva

The one-named singer clarified the confusing pronunciation on this one (in her case, it's shah-DAY), but a number of parents have looked for more phonetic spellings. The Finnish version means "rain."

Sade

This pretty Finnish name is a diminutive of a diminutive, going from Sarah to Sari to Saija.

Saija

Sohvi is the Finnish translation of Sophia, although Sofia ranks as the most popular variation in Finland.

Sohvi

To the non-Scandinavian ear, a cute and unusual nickname name, used by Finnish supermodel Suvi Koponen.

Suvi

Suoma

This name was on the U.S. Top 1000 in the early 20th century, when recent immigrants frequently chose native names that have since died out for American babies.  But if you're of Finnish ancestry, you may want to consider reviving this one with a positive meaning.

Finnish Names