Transferred Place Names in Central Harjumaa
Transferred Place Names in Central Harjumaa

Summary/Abstract: The article provides a survey of the transferred names contained in the toponymy of Central Harjumaa, a region of Northern Estonia. Special attention has been paid to commemorative names that have also emerged as a result of transfer, as a proper name is transferred from its original denotee to another (additional) entity. A detailed analysis is presented of the transferred names of Central Harjumaa, their subdivisions: migratory transferred names and comparative transferred names, as well as the commemorative names of the region. The research material comes from the Place Name Archive of the Institute of the Estonian Language, the National Place Name Register and the Address Data System of the Estonian Land Board. As revealed by the analysis, the vast majority of the transferred names of Central Harjumaa are of a comparative nature. In commemorative names, the most numerous subgroup is the kolkhoz and sovkhoz names group. Also, the commemorative names, as well as the rest of the transferred names of Central Harjumaa, contain names emphasising national heritage and national romanticism. Most of the names originating in Bible names have remained unofficial as ephemeral microtoponyms. A special layer of commemorative names formed by kolkhoz and sovkhoz names has by now vanished from Estonian toponymy without leaving any noticeable trace.

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