Havumäki was a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

within the municipality of

Leivonmäki Leivonmäki is a former municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It became a part of Joutsa in 2008. It is located south-east from Jyväskylä. It is known for its marshy grounds and its national park. The municipality was uni ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, itself a small town of only 1162 people (2003), until Leivonmäki was incorporated into

Joutsa Joutsa is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Joutsa municipality. The municipality has a population of () and covers an ...

in 2008. Located in the

Central Finland Central Finland ( fi, Keski-Suomi; sv, Mellersta Finland) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, No ...

region, approximately from

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Havumäki enjoys the moderate climate of the central region, in spite of its northern situation at latitude 61.9833 North.

Havumäki as a surname

Perhaps owing to the pastoral environs of the village of Havumaki, a small family of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants bearing the impolitic Swedish-sounding last name

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

changed their name to Havumäki in the period immediately following the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. The political climate in Finland at the time was not favorable towards those with identifiable Swedish heritage. Residing in the town of

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish. ...

, closer to the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n Border than to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the Anderson clan likely contrived their family name because it meant "evergreen hill" (or spruce hill), and not because of any personal connection to the small hamlet. Nonetheless, several prominent individuals have borne this name, including renowned psychology professor Sulo Havumäki, who, while working at Bemidji State College in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, popularized the made-up legend of St. Urho. The legend honors the (supposed) patron saint of Finland, who drove the infamous grape-crop destroying grasshoppers out of Finland. Another prominent bearer of this surname is Kalle Havumäki - a promising young rap artist.

Havumäki as a surname

Further reading