FAQ

What is a Swedish Finn?

Finland is a multilingual country. Finnish and Swedish are official languages and several additional languages, such as Inari, Northern, and Skolt Samí, hold special status. These languages have been spoken in Finland for centuries. Finland was part of Sweden for more than 600 years—all government and military business was conducted in Swedish—until Finland was lost to Russia in 1809.

It was widely believed that the two cultures, Finnish speaking and Swedish speaking, developed separately and peacefully with Swedish speakers living on the coast and Finnish speakers living inland. However, recent archeological evidence suggests that Swedish-speakers moved to coastal areas of Finland, likely beginning around 13th century, and settled among the Finnish speakers. The Finnish speakers did not move away, abandoning the coast to the Swedes. Instead, archeological evidence suggests that  the Swedish language was adopted in these coastal communities by the Finnish speakers.

Swedish Finns, or Finlandssvenskar as they refer to themselves, are part of a language minority with a distinct culture. Today in Finland they comprise 5.2% of its population and live in four areas—Ostrobothnia, Åboland, Åland, and Nyland.  The Swedish spoken in Finland is mutually intelligible with the Swedish spoken in Sweden and has many distinct dialects with unique words and phrasing.

During the period of the Great Migration many Swedish Finns emigrated to new countries. Emigration was far heavier in Ostrobothnia and Åland than in Åboland and Nyland, which were more industrialized and had more employment opportunities. Some communities lost over ten percent of their population to emigration.

Why “Swedish Finns?”

People often challenge the phrasing of Swedish Finn. Here are the reasons we use this term:

The earliest Swedish Finn organizations used the the term Swedish Finnish such as  Svensk-Finsk Nykterhetsförbundet av Amerika, the Swedish Finnish Baptist Mission, and Svensk-Finska Arbetareklubben i Seattle. Some Swedish Finn emigrants referred to themselves as Swedes but calling ourselves Swedes is inaccurate and leaves out the best part of the story. In Finland today, the Swedish speakers refer to themselves as Finlandssvenskar or Finland’s Swedes. This phrasing works well in Swedish but is awkward and clumsy in English. In the end we had to choose a name and we chose to follow the lead of our emigrant ancestors and use Swedish Finn. You can rest assured that we will never tell you what you should call yourself.

Where were the Swedish Finn settlements in North America?

British Columbia
New Westminster, Rossland, Vancouver

California
Bakersfield, Berkeley, Crescent City, Eureka, Fresno, Fort Bragg, Los Angeles, Reedley, San Francisco

Colorado
Leadville, Telluride

Connecticut
Branford, Bridgeport, New Haven

Florida
Fort Worth, West Palm Beach

Illinois
Chicago, Rockford, Waukegan

Massachusetts
Boston, Fitchburg, Gardener, North Chelmsford, Norwood, Quincy, Worcester

Michigan
Amassa, Baraga, Bessemer, Crystal Falls, Calumet, Detroit, Dollar Bay, Escanaba, Gladstone, Hancock, Iron Mountain, Felch,  Ironwood, Manistique, Munising, Muskegon*, Negaunee,  Norway, Otonagon, Ramsay, Sault Ste. Marie, Stambaugh

Minnesota
Biwabik, Chisholm, Duluth, Eveleth, Hibbing, Minneapolis, West Duluth

Montana
Butte

New Jersey
Jersey City, North Arlington

New York
Bronx, Brooklyn, Mariners Harbor, Springfield, Staten Island, Wappinger Falls

Ontario
Blind River, Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor

Oregon
Astoria, Coos Bay, Portland

Rhode Island
Woonsocket

Utah
Bingham Canyon, Eureka, Salt Lake City

Washington
Aberdeen, Anacortes, Everett, Hartford,  Hoquiam, New Castle, Olympia, Port Angeles, Rochester, Seattle, South Bend, Tacoma

Wisconsin
Ashland, Conover, Kenosha, Superior