Name of Estonia

The name of Estonia ( et, Eesti ) has a long and complex history. It has been connected to ''Aesti'', first mentioned by Tacitus around AD 98. The name's modern geographical meaning comes from ''Eistland'', ''Estia'' and ''Hestia'' in the medieval Scandinavian sources. Estonians adopted it as an endonym only in the mid-19th century.

Etymology

Origins

The name has a complex history extending over two thousand years, and there is little consensus on which places and peoples it has referred to at different periods. Roman historian Tacitus in his ''Germania'' (ca. AD 98), mentioned ''Aestiorum gentes'' "Aestian tribes", and some historians believe that he was directly referring to Balts while others have proposed that the name applied to the whole Eastern Baltic. The word Aesti mentioned by Tacitus might derive from Latin ''Aestuarii'' meaning "Estuary Dwellers". Later geographically vague mentions include ''Aesti'' by Jordanes from the 6th century and ''Aisti'' by Einhard from the early 7th century. The last mention generally considered to be applying primarily to the southern parts of the Eastern-Baltic is ''Eastlanda'' in a description of Wulfstan’s travels from the 9th century. In the following centuries, views of the Eastern Baltic became more complex, and in the 11th century, Adam of Bremen mentions three islands, with ''Aestland'' being the northernmost.

The Viking runestones and Scandinavian sagas referring to ''Eistland'' were the earliest sources to use the name in its modern meaning. The sagas were composed in the 13th century on the basis of earlier oral tradition by historians like Snorri Sturluson. Estonia appears as ''Aistland'' in ''Gutasaga'' and as ''Eistland'' in ''Ynglinga saga'', ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar'', '' Haralds saga hárfagra'', and '' Örvar-Odds saga''. In Sweden, the Frugården runestone from the 11th century mentions ''Estlatum'' "Estonian lands". Many other runestones in Sweden indicate that at the time there were close contacts with Estonia, because of the frequent references therein to personal names such as ''Æistfari'' ("traveller to Estonia"), ''Æistulfr'' ("Wolf of Estonians") and Æistr ("Estonian").

The first mostly reliable chronicle data comes from ''Gesta Danorum'' by the 12th century historian Saxo Grammaticus, referring to Estonia as ''Hestia'', ''Estia'' and its people as ''Estonum''. The toponym ''Estland/Eistland'' has been connected to Old Norse ''eist'', ''austr'' meaning "the east". The 12th century Arab geographer al-Idrisi from Sicily, who presumably had help of some informant at Jutland in Denmark, describes ''Astalānda'', probably referring to Estonia and the Livonian regions of Latvia. From Scandinavian the name spread to German and later, following the rise of the Catholic Church, reached Latin, with Henry of Latvia in his '' Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae'' (ca. AD 1229) naming the region ''Estonia'' and its inhabitants ''Estones''. Tamm, Kaljundi & Jensen 2016, pp. 94-96

Adoption by Estonians

The endonym ''maarahvas'', literally meaning "land people" or "country folk", was used up until the mid-19th century. Beyer 2011, pp. 12-13 Its origins are unclear; there is a hypothesis of it originating from the prehistoric period, but no supporting evidence has been found. Another proposed explanation relates to its being a medieval loan-translation from German ''Landvolk''. Although the name had been used earlier, Johann Voldemar Jannsen played a major role in popularisation of ''Eesti rahvas'' "Estonian people" among the Estonians themselves, during the Estonian national awakening. The first number of his newspaper '' Perno Postimees'' in 1857 started with ''"Terre, armas Eesti rahwas!"'' meaning "Hello, dear Estonian people!".

In other languages

''Esthonia'' was a common alternative English spelling. In 1922, in response to a letter by Estonian diplomat Oskar Kallas raising the issue, the Royal Geographical Society agreed that the correct spelling was ''Estonia''. Formal adoption took place at the government level only in 1926, with the United Kingdom and United States then adopting the spelling ''Estonia''. In the same year this spelling was officially endorsed by the Estonian government, alongside ''Estonie'' in French, and ''Estland'' in German, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish.

In Finnish Estonia is known as ''Viro'', originating from the historic independent county Virumaa. In a similar vein, the corresponding Latvian word ''Igaunija'' derives from Ugandi County. Theroux 2011, p. 22

References

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{{Europe topic, Name of, title=Names of European states and territories

History of Estonia
Estonia