Havumäki was a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

within the municipality of Leivonmäki,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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

Joutsa Joutsa is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. Jyväskylä is located about north of the Jouts ...

in 2008. Located in the

Central Finland Central 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, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

region, approximately from

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, 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 immigrants bearing the impolitic Swedish-sounding last name Anderson changed their name to Havumäki in the period immediately following the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

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

Kotka Kotka (; ) is a town in Finland, located on the southeastern coast of the country at the mouth of the Kymi River. The population of Kotka is approximately , while the Kotka-Hamina sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is th ...

, closer to the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n Border than to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 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