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Family Name (Luhtala)

As of September 2022, I have officially adopted the surname Luhtala belonging to my maternal grandfather Aleksanteri Luhtala. My birth surname is Silvennoinen (I was born Juuso Silvennoinen). I have changed my name to Juuso Luhtala because I feel a strong connection to my maternal grandfather. Finnish law allows one to take a surname that has been used in one's family within the last five generations. According to Finnish Orthodox Church records, my maternal grandfather was baptized as Aleksandr Luhtala and his first name was then changed into the more Finnish form of Aleksanteri. I feel that having Luhtala as my family name brings me closer to my Eastern Orthodox (Christian) Karelian cultural heritage.

My maternal grandfather Aleksanteri Luhtala and his extended family lived in the village of Kaunoselkä in the former Finnish municipality of Salmi before the Second World War. Salmi was a part of Border Karelia (Raja-Karjala in Finnish). My maternal grandfather and his extended family were Eastern Orthodox Christians. According to information passed on to my mother, the family name Luhtala was based on the name of the (farm) estate (Finnish: tila) the extended family owned.

Research published in 2017 by Outi Patronen on the changes of surnames in Finnish Eastern Orthodox Karelian population between 1818 and 1925 verifies this family folklore as true (Patronen, 2017, pages 244-245). Patronen writes in her doctoral dissertation: "Muualla Salmissa vuosien 1890 ja 1920 välillä tilannimeen pohjaavan tai sitä muistuttavan sukunimen sai parikymmentä ortodoksiperhettä. Näitä sukunimiä ovat esimerkiksi nimet ... Luhtala (Kaunoselkä 1920; seurakunnan asiakirjoissa v. 1898), ...". The previous quote can be translated as follows: "Elsewhere in Salmi between 1890 and 1920 about twenty Orthodox families received a surname which was based on the estate name or it was reminiscent of the estate name. These kind of surnames are for example surnames ... Luhtala (Kaunoselkä 1920; in Orthodox Church records in the year 1898), ...").

Old Karelian maps (National Land Survey of Finland, 2009) show the name Luhtanen clearly in the village of Kaunoselkä (screenshot from https://www.karjalankartat.fi/):

Kaunoselkä, Luhtanen

Luhtala and Luhtanen are some forms of my family name that can be found in old Finnish Orthodox Church records. The form Luhtala has then eventually become established as the official family name. It is possible that before the surname Luhtala was adopted, my Orthodox Karelian ancestors did not have a surname but they used patronyms instead (patronym: a part of a person's name is based on their father's first name).

References

Additional Reading

Border Karelian and East Karelian Heritage

The Flag of East Karelia

The flag of East Karelia should be displayed above. The flag of East Karelia is used as the ethnic flag of Karelians. The flag was designed by famous Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela and it was proposed to be used as an independentist flag in the region of East Karelia (Finnish: Itä-Karjala).

The flag of East Karelia can also be considered a symbol of Eastern Orthodox (Christian) Karelian culture historically prevalent in the regions of East Karelia and Border Karelia (Finnish: Raja-Karjala). My maternal grandfather and his family were Eastern Orthodox Karelians who lived in Finnish Border Karelia before the area was lost to the Soviet Union for the first time after the Winter War and for the second time after the Continuation War. My maternal grandfather took part in both wars as a Finnish soldier. In addition, my maternal grandfather's mother and her family originated from Aunus (Olonets) Karelia (Finnish: Aunuksen Karjala), which is a part of East Karelia.

For me the flag of East Karelia symbolizes my Orthodox Karelian cultural heritage. Additionally, it also symbolizes the intergenerational consequences of the cultural and socioeconomic loss that my maternal grandfather and his extended family suffered after they lost their homes and farms and became refugees within Finnish borders (Finnish: Karjalan siirtoväki/evakot). Unfortunately, the Orthodox Border Karelians were often discriminated within Finland based on their traditional Karelian culture, their Eastern Orthodox Christian religion and their use of the Karelian language. The Orthodox Christian faith was viewed as too reminiscent of Russia, and thus somehow an "Un-Finnish" phenomenon since the absolute majority of Finnish people were Lutherans. Likewise, Karelian language was incorrectly recognized only as a dialect of Finnish and therefore the use of Karelian language was discouraged. People speaking Karelian language learned to hide its use and used Finnish instead, at least in public. Eventually, members of the future generations, like me, never learned the language.

The Flag of East Karelia Image Information

The image displaying the flag of East Karelia is from the Wikimedia Commons page of the East Karelia flag. Image author information can be found on Wikimedia Commons page of the East Karelia flag.

Some Research on the Subject and Other Links for More Information

The Treatment of Finnish Orthodox Karelian Evacuees in Finland after the Second World War

Ethnic Karelian People, Their Culture and Language

Border Karelia

East Karelia

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