Virtanen (surname)

Virtanen
Origin
LanguageFinnish
MeaningDerived from virta ("river, stream")
Region of originFinland
Other names
Variant formVirta

Virtanen (also written as Wirtanen)[1] is a surname originating in Finland (in Finnish, virta, meaning "river", and -nen is a surname-generating suffix), where it is the second most common surname.[2] The surname is the namesake of the "Virtanen type" of Finnish surnames.

The name quickly became popular in 19th century, in the era of Finnish national awakening, however rare occasions of it were documented in 1684 at the latest.[3]

Notable people with the surname include:

Virtanen

Wirtanen

Fictional characters

  • B. Virtanen, lead character of the Ilkka Heilä comic strip of the same name
  • Virtanen (no first name), hero of Tango is my passion by M.A. Numminen
  • Lukas Virtanen, main character of Mark of the Vasirian and subsequent books from the Blackthorn Saga by author Stephanie Denne.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wirtanen" is an antiquated variant spelling listed at V in Finland (in the Finnish alphabet, the letter W is an archaic variant of V, kept for spelling ancient names). It is mostly found abroad for the descendants of ancient Finnish emigrants (as of March 2010, the Finnish Population Register Center Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine's "Surname search" reported 23600 Virtanen and 254 Wirtanen).
  2. ^ As of November 2011, "Most common surnames", Finnish Population Register Center Archived 2010-05-23 at the Wayback Machine (English version), verkkopalvelut.vrk.fi/Nimipalvelu
  3. ^ Pirjo Mikkonen, Sirkka Paikkala, Sukunimet ["Surnames"], article "Virtanen".
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