Place names

What is a place name?

A place name is the name of a geographical object (e.g., a settlement, bus stop, lake, river, etc.). The name assigned to a geographical object by law or confirmed by a decision of the Place Names Council is the official place name.

A named object can only have one official place name and, in some cases, one official parallel name (e.g., Tuksi/Bergsby village).

If other names are also used for the object, these are unofficial place names. For example, there is a lake in Haanja parish whose official name is Mäe-Tilga Lake, but it is also commonly known by the unofficial name Valgejärv.

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Determination of place names

• Data on official place names are submitted by the place name authority and the place name council.
• The place name authorities are the Government of the Republic, the minister, and the local government.
• Anyone may apply for the entry of an unofficial place name in the register upon submission of the data.