This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008) |
Below is list of Swedish language exonyms for places in non-Swedish-speaking areas of the world. Not included are spelling changes and translations of non-proper nouns.
In general
Diacritical marks (such as ´ ` ^ etc above letters) are generally stripped, except that Å, Ä, Ö, are kept, and usually also Ü and É (but È and Á are written E and A). Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic and Faroese Æ and Ø are often written as AE or Ä and Ö, especially in the press.
Foreign place names containing a direction such as South or Upper are often translated, e.g.:
- East Timor – Östtimor
- Northern Ireland – Nordirland
- South Africa - Sydafrika
but U.S. states nowadays keep their English names in Sweden:
- e.g. South Carolina and West Virginia
Albania
Albania Albanien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Tirana | Tirana | Tiranë | |
Argentina
Argentina Argentina |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Patagonia | Patagonien | Patagonia | |
Tierra del Fuego | Eldslandet | Tierra del Fuego | |
Austria
Austria Österrike |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Tyrol | Tyrolen | Tirol | |
Belgium
Belgium Belgien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Bruges | Brygge | Brugge | Dutch | |
Brussels | Bryssel (Brüssel) | Brussel | Dutch | |
Bruxelles | French | |
Ostend | Ostende | Oostende | Dutch | |
Ypres | Ypern | Ieper | Dutch | |
Bulgaria
Bulgaria Bulgarien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Balkan Mountains | Balkanbergen | Stara Planina | |
Danube | Donau | Dunav | |
Thrace | Thrakien | Trakiya | |
China
Croatia
Cuba
Cuba Kuba |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym |
Havana | Havanna | Habana |
Czechia
Czechia Tjeckien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Bohemia | Böhmen | Čechy | Czech | |
Elbe | Elbe | Labe | Czech | |
Moravia | Mähren | Morava | Czech | |
Prague | Prag | Praha | Czech | |
Silesia | Schlesien | Slezko | Czech | |
Denmark
Newspapers in Sweden usually write all æ as ä or ae and all ø as ö, because of the lack of æ and ø on the Windows keyboard layout for Swedish, and historically because of the lack of them on Swedish typewriters. Swedish newspapers normally write aa as å. Aa is the traditional spelling of the "aw" sound in Danish, but this spelling does not exist for this sound in Swedish. Both spellings of the sound exist in Danish, aa in some names, but å always being correct.
Swedish Wikipedia writes Danish place names using the original æ and ø, except for those listed above.
Egypt
Egypt Egypten |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Egypt | Egypten | Miṣr, Maṣr | Arabic | |
Alexandria | Alexandria | al-Iskandariyya | Standard Arabic | |
Cairo | Kairo | al-Qāhira | Standard Arabic | |
Luxor | Luxor | al-Uqṣur | Standard Arabic | |
Estonia
Estonia had a significant indigenous Swedish-speaking population until the mid-20th Century, so many of these names are not really exonyms in the strict sense of the word.
Swedish names in italic in the table can be considered archaic, and the Estonian version of those are usually used nowadays in Swedish.
Faroe Islands
Finland
Swedish is one of the two official languages of Finland, so the Swedish names of places in Finland are not exonyms.
France
France Frankrike |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Aquitaine | Akvitanien | Aquitaine | French | |
Ardennes | Ardennerna | Ardennes | French | |
Burgundy | Burgund | Bourgogne | French | |
Corsica | Korsika | Corse | French | |
Normandy | Normandiet | Normandie | French | |
Pyrenees | Pyrenéerna | Pyrénées | French | |
Rhine | Rhen | Rhin | French | |
Germany
Germany Tyskland |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Gottorp | Gottorp | Gottorf | German | |
Rhine | Rhen | Rhein | German | |
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Iraq
Iraq Iraq |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Euphrates | Eufrat | al-Furāt | Arabic | |
Tigris | Tigris | Dijla | Arabic | |
Israel
Israel Israel |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Acre | Akko | 'Akkā | Arabic | |
'Ako | Hebrew | |
Capernaum | Kafarnaum (Kapernaum) | Kfar Naḥum | Hebrew | |
Talhum | Arabic | |
Galilee | Galileen | Al-Jalīl | Arabic | |
HaGalil | Hebrew | |
Jaffa | Jaffa | Yaffa | Arabic | |
Yafo | Hebrew | |
Judea | Judeen | Yahudia | Arabic | |
Yehuda | Hebrew | |
Nazareth | Nasaret | al-Nāṣira | Standard Arabic | |
al-Nāṣeriyye | Palestinian Arabic | |
Natzrat, Natzeret | Hebrew | |
Tiberias | Tiberias | Ṭabariyya | Arabic | |
Tverya | Hebrew | |
Italy
Italy Italien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Florence | Florens | Firenze | Italian | |
Genoa | Genua | Genova | Italian | |
Lombardy | Lombardiet | Lombardia | Italian | |
Naples | Neapel | Napoli | Italian | |
Padua | Padua | Padova | Italian | |
Rome | Rom | Roma | Italian | |
Sardinia | Sardinien | Sardegna | Italian | |
Sicily | Sicilien | Sicilia | Italian | |
Syracuse | Syrakusa | Siracusa | Italian | |
Tiber | Tibern | Tevere | Italian | |
Turin | Turin | Torino | Italian | |
Tyrol | Tyrolen | Tirolo | Italian | |
Venice | Venedig | Venezia | Italian | |
Venetia | Venetien | Veneto | Italian | |
Vesuvius | Vesuvius | Vesuvio | Italian | |
Latvia
Lebanon
Lebanon Libanon |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Beirut | Beirut | Bayrūt | Arabic | |
Sidon | Sayda, Sidon | Ṣaydā | Arabic | |
Tyre | Tyros | Ṣūr | Arabic | |
Lithuania
Mali
Mali Mali |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Timbuktu | Timbuktu | Tombouctou | French | |
Morocco
Morocco Marocko |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Casablanca | Casablanca | Ed-Dah el-Biḍa | Arabic | |
Marrakesh | Marrakech | Murrākuš | Arabic | |
Tangier | Tanger | Ṭanjah | Arabic | |
Netherlands
Norway
The (more or less, requires some knowledge of certain words) mutually intelligible Norwegian and Swedish languages have different spelling systems for the same sounds.
Newspapers in Sweden usually write all æ as ä or ae and all ø as ö, because of the lack of æ and ø on the Windows keyboard layout for Swedish, and historically because of the lack of them on Swedish typewriters. Apart from æ and ø, the Norwegian spelling is used in Sweden.
Examples include Askøy, Bodø, Bærum, Galdhøpiggen, Gjøvik, Hønefoss, Røros, Stjørdal, Tønsberg, Tromsø, Vadsø and Østfold, which are usually by media written as Asköy, Bodö, Bärum or Baerum, Galdhöpiggen, Gjövik, Hönefoss, Röros, Stjördal, Tönsberg, Tromsö, Vadsö and Östfold.
The Norwegian spelling with æ and ø is still often used. Swedish Wikipedia writes Norwegian place names using the original æ and ø.
Palestine
Palestine Palestina |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Bethlehem | Betlehem | Bayt Laḥm | Arabic | |
Beyt Leḥem | Hebrew | |
Hebron | Hebron | Al-Khalīl | Arabic | |
Ḥevron | Hebrew | |
Jericho | Jeriko | 'Arīḥā | Arabic | |
Yeriḥo | Hebrew | |
Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Al-Quds | Arabic | |
Yerushaláyim | Hebrew | |
Poland
Poland Polen |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Carpathians | Karpaterna | Karpaty | Polish | |
Gdańsk | Gdansk (Danzig) | Gdańsk | Polish | |
Masuria | Masurien | Mazury | Polish | |
Mazovia | Masovien | Mazowieckie | Polish | |
Pomerania | Pommern | Pomorze | Polish | |
Silesia | Schlesien | Śląsk | Polish | |
Szczecin | Stettin | Szczecin | Polish | |
Warmia | Ermland | Warmia | Polish | |
Warsaw | Warschau | Warszawa | Polish | Swedish now uses endonym |
Poznań | Poznan (Posen) | Poznań | Polish | |
Wschowa | Wschowa (Fraustadt) | Wschowa | Polish | |
Wrocław | Wroclaw (Breslau) | Wrocław | Polish | |
Portugal
Portugal Portugal |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym |
Lisbon | Lissabon | Lisboa |
Romania
Russia
Some of these names are not really exonyms in the strict sense of the word, as the places have been part of Sweden, some founded as such.
Saudi Arabia
Slovakia
South Africa
South Africa Sydafrika |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Cape Town | Kapstaden | Cape Town | English | |
iKapa | Zulu | |
Kaapstad | Afrikaans | |
Spain
Spain Spanien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Andalusia | Andalusien | Andalucía | Spanish | |
Aragon | Aragonien | Aragón | Spanish | |
Asturias | Asturien | Asturias | Spanish | |
Basque Country | Baskien | Euskadi | Basque | |
País Vasco | Spanish | |
Castile | Kastilien | Castilla | Spanish | |
Catalonia | Katalonien | Cataluña | Spanish | |
Catalunya | Catalan | |
Galicia | Galicien | Galicia | Spanish | |
Pyrenees | Pyrenéerna | Pirineus | Catalan | |
Pirinoak | Basque | |
Pireneos | Spanish | |
Tenerife | Teneriffa | Tenerife | Spanish | |
Switzerland
Switzerland Schweiz |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Rhine | Rhen | Reno | Italian | |
Rhein | German | |
Rhin | French | |
Syria
Syria Syrien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Aleppo | Aleppo | Ḥalab | Arabic | |
Damascus | Damaskus | Dimashq | Arabic | |
Euphrates | Eufrat | Al-Furāt | Arabic | |
Turkey
Ukraine
Ukraine Ukraina |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Danube | Donau | Dunai | |
Galicia | Galizien | Halychyna | |
Kyiv | Kiev | Kyiv | Was called Könugård during the Viking age |
United Kingdom
United Kingdom Det Förenade Kungariket/ Storbritannien |
English name | Swedish name | Endonym | Notes |
Name | Language |
Great Britain | Storbritannien | Great Britain | English | The name of the island of Great Britain |
Danelaw | Danelagen | Danelagh (English) Danelaw (English) Denelagu (Old English) Danelagen (Old Norse, Danish, Swedish) | Old Norse | |
British Virgin Islands | Brittiska Jungfruöarna | British Virgin Islands | English | |
United Kingdom | Storbritannien | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK), Britain | English | The name of the country of the United Kingdom |
Isle of Man | Mön | Isle of Man (English) Mannin, Ellan Vannin (Manx) Mön (Old Norse) | Old Norse | |
Northern Ireland | Nordirland | Northern Ireland (English) Tuaisceart Éireann (Irish) Norlin Airlann (Ulster Scots) | Ulser Scots, English | |
England | England | England | Anglo-Saxon | |
London | Lundúnir (old name, London is currently used) | London (English) Lundúnir (Old Norse) Londonium (Latin) Londonjon (Common Brittonic) | Common Brittonic | |
Thames | Themsen | Tamesas | Common Brittonic | |
York | Jorvik | Jórvík | Old Norse | A ''true'' modern Swedish name for ''New York'' could be ''Nya Jorvik'' |
Dover | Dofrar (little used) | Portus Dubris (Latin) Dofrar (Old Norse) Dover (English) | Latin | |
Canterbury | Kantaraborg | Canterbury | Anglo-Saxon | |
Cambridge | Kambabryggja (little used) | Cambridge | Anglo-Saxon | |
Oxford | Öxnafurða (obsolete) | Oxford (English) Öxnafurða (Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese) | Old Norse | |
Yarmouth | Järnamoda | Járnamóða | Old Norse | |
Southampton | Suðurhamtún (obsolete) | Clausentum (Latin) Southampton (English, Anglo-Saxon) Suðurhamtún (Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese | Latin | |
Scotland | Skottland | Scotland (English, Scots) Alba (Scottish Gaelic) | Scots, English | |
Edinburgh | Edinborg | Edinburgh (English, Scots) Dùn Èideann (Scottish Gaelic) Edinborg (Swedish, Old Norse) | Scots, English | |
Aberdeen | Apardjon (obsolete) | Aberdeen (English) Aiberdeen (Scots) Obar Dheathain (Scottish Gaelic) Apardjón (Old Norse) Aberdonia (Latin) | Scots | |
Lerwick | Larvik | Lerwick (English, Scots) Larvik (Norn, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) Leirvík (Old Norse, Icelandic, Faroese) | Old Norse | |
Wales | Kymrien (though Wales is mostly used) | Cymru (Welsh) Wales (English) | Welsh | |
Some historic area names beginning with British are translated, such as British Guyana into "Brittiska Guyana". British Columbia in Canada is nowadays kept.
United States
See also