Which country is known by its inhabitants as Suomi?

Finland is known by its inhabitants as Suomi, the country’s Finnish-language name. In Finnish, the country’s official short name is Suomi, while Finland is the form used in English and many other languages.

The name appears in the country’s official long title, Suomen tasavalta, meaning “Republic of Finland.” Finnish is a Uralic language, closely related to Estonian and more distantly related to languages such as Hungarian. Swedish is also an official language of Finland, so the country has two established national-language naming traditions.

The origin of Suomi is not certain. Several explanations have been proposed, and scholars have connected it with names such as Häme and Sápmi, but no single derivation is universally accepted. This uncertainty is common with very old geographic names whose meanings changed over centuries.

Finland is a Nordic country bordering Sweden, Norway, and Russia. Its capital is Helsinki, and the Finnish word Suomi appears in names such as Suomenlinna, a historic sea fortress near Helsinki.