Origin of The Name Kven - Theory Two: "Woman"

Theory Two: "Woman"

Whatever the origin of the name "kven" is, it effortlessly translates to "woman" in Old Norse. Proto-Germanic "*kwinōn, *kunōn; *kwēni-z, *kwēnō" for "woman" had developed into "kona; kvǟn, kvān, kvɔ̄n; kvendi; kvenna, kvinna" in Old Norse. An example of this is that Kvenland was most likely translated to Terra Feminarum ("Woman Land") in a Latin text from 1075 CE. Finland is not mentioned. Another reference to a north-bound land of women is from an Icelandic manuscript from the 14th century that describes a kuenna land ("Woman Land") north of India that would only have women with both reproduction organs. As the name appears in a geographical list of countries and Finland is nowhere to be found, it may also be a misunderstanding from an era that no longer recognized Kvenland any more.

The reason why Finland would have been called as "Woman Land" is not immediately explained. However, there was a rumour already in the 1st century CE, written down by Tacitus himself, that a tribe called Sitones possibly living somewhere in the present-day Finland were ruled by a woman. This could have led into some Germanic tribes calling Finland as the "woman land", placing a slightly deragotary meaning on the name (at least Tacitus was appalled by the rumour). Swedes living closer to Finns would have restrained using such a name, which would explain absence of "Kvenland" in Swedish contexts.

All in all, there was a persistent tradition of various contents about a land controlled by women in the north which might have generated the name "Kvenland" in a somewhat similar manner than later times invented the name for the River Amazon.