A Norwegian exonym is a name used in the Norwegian language for a geographical feature outside the Norwegian-speaking area which differs from the endonym used in an official or well-established local language. Examples include Tyskland for German Deutschland, Havanna for Spanish La Habana, Rhinen for German Rhein, and Themsen for English Thames.
The distinction is not always straightforward. A translated name, the replacement of a foreign article with a Norwegian definite ending, or a traditional form used for a feature extending across several language areas may be considered an exonym. A standard romanisation or transcription of a name written in another script, however, is not necessarily an exonym. Thus, forms such as Beijing and Moskva may be treated as renderings of endonyms, whereas the traditional form Peking is an exonym.
Norwegian has two official written standards, Bokmål and Nynorsk. Many geographical names are identical in both, while translated names may differ, as in Bokmål Rødehavet and Nynorsk Raudehavet.
Naming policy and history
Until the early 20th century, Norwegian writing commonly followed Danish practice in the spelling of foreign geographical names. Danish usage was itself strongly influenced by German, producing forms such as Neapel, Venedig and Florents for Italian Napoli, Venezia and Firenze.
A Norwegian list of foreign geographical names published in 1922 established a general preference for the spelling used in the country or language to which a name belonged. Traditional Norwegian forms, names extending across several countries, translated names and names from non-Latin scripts were among the recognised exceptions. The policy developed several decades before similar principles were promoted internationally by the United Nations.
In 1991, the Norwegian Language Council published Geografilista, which established spellings for a selection of approximately 5,000 names of states, settlements, islands, rivers, mountain ranges and other geographical features. The list, with subsequent revisions, is now maintained online by Språkrådet. Its principal rule for countries using the Latin alphabet is that national spellings should normally be respected.
This endonym-oriented policy explains why Norwegian normally uses such forms as Firenze, Venezia, Napoli, Praha, Göteborg and Antwerpen, rather than exonyms used in some neighbouring languages. Norwegian adaptations are more common in derived words and demonyms: the city remains Göteborg, for example, while an inhabitant may be a gøteborger in Bokmål.
Current exonyms
The following tables give selected established forms rather than an exhaustive list. Unless otherwise stated, their current status follows Språkrådet's lists of foreign geographical names and state names. Where the two Norwegian written standards differ, the Bokmål form is given before the Nynorsk form.
Names whose difference is primarily the result of Norwegian transcription from a non-Latin script are generally omitted from the tables.
Countries and territories
English name Norwegian name Principal local name or names Notes Austria Østerrike (Bokmål); Austerrike (Nynorsk) German: Österreich Traditional Norwegian forms. Croatia Kroatia Croatian: Hrvatska Czechia Tsjekkia Czech: Česko Ivory Coast Elfenbeinskysten; Bokmål also Elfenbenskysten French: Côte d'Ivoire A translated name retained in official Norwegian usage. France Frankrike French: France The second element means “realm” or “kingdom”. Greece Hellas Greek: Ελλάδα (Elláda) The Norwegian form is unusually close to Greek Ellás, an older form of the Greek name. Hungary Ungarn Hungarian: Magyarország Poland Polen Polish: Polska Scotland Skottland English and Scots: Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba Spain Spania Spanish: España Switzerland Sveits German: Schweiz; French: Suisse; Italian: Svizzera; Romansh: Svizra Based ultimately on the name of Schwyz. Germany Tyskland German: Deutschland Cognate with the endonym.
Settlements
English name Norwegian name Endonym Notes Athens Aten or Athen Greek: Αθήνα (Athína) Both Norwegian spellings are accepted. Corinth Korint Greek: Κόρινθος (Kórinthos) The older spelling Korinth is not the current recommended form. Corfu Korfu or Kérkyra Greek: Κέρκυρα (Kérkyra) The exonym and a transcription of the endonym are both accepted. The Hague Haag Dutch: Den Haag or The Dutch preposed article is omitted. Havana Havanna Spanish: La Habana Traditional spelling with Norwegian double n. Plzeň Plzeň or Pilsen Czech: Plzeň Pilsen, originally the German name, remains an accepted alternative.
Regions, islands and mountain ranges
English name Norwegian name Local name or names Notes Alps Alpene (Bokmål); Alpane (Nynorsk) German: Alpen; French: Alpes; Italian: Alpi; others A transnational feature with several endonyms. Apennines Appenninene (Bokmål); Appenninane (Nynorsk) Italian: Appennini Azores Asorene (Bokmål); Asorane (Nynorsk) Portuguese: Açores Azorene and Azorane are referred to the forms with initial As- by Språkrådet. Balearic Islands Balearene (Bokmål); Balearane (Nynorsk) Catalan: Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares Basque Country Baskerland (Bokmål); Baskarland (Nynorsk) Basque: Euskal Herria or Euskadi; Spanish: País Vasco; French: Pays basque The precise geographical scope varies between names and contexts. Carpathians Karpatene (Bokmål); Karpatane (Nynorsk) Several local forms, including Romanian Carpați and Polish, Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian Karpaty A transnational feature. Corsica Korsika French: Corse; Corsican: Corsica Crete Kreta Greek: Κρήτη (Kríti) Hebrides Hebridene (Bokmål); Hebridane (Nynorsk) English: Hebrides; Scottish Gaelic names vary by island group Pyrenees Pyreneene (Bokmål); Pyreneane (Nynorsk) French: Pyrénées; Spanish: Pirineos; Catalan: Pirineus A transnational feature. Sardinia Sardinia Italian: Sardegna; Sardinian: Sardigna and regional variants Tierra del Fuego Ildlandet (Bokmål); Eldlandet (Nynorsk) Spanish: Tierra del Fuego A direct translation meaning “Land of Fire”.
Rivers, seas and other physical features
English name Norwegian name Local name or names Notes Baltic Sea Østersjøen (Bokmål); Austersjøen (Nynorsk) Numerous local names, including Swedish Östersjön, Finnish Itämeri and German Ostsee Literally “the eastern sea”. Black Sea Svartehavet Numerous local names, including Turkish Karadeniz, Russian Чёрное море and Romanian Marea Neagră A translated name. Dead Sea Dødehavet (Bokmål); Daudehavet (Nynorsk) Hebrew: ים המלח (“Sea of Salt”); Arabic: البحر الميت (“Dead Sea”) A translated name. Euphrates Eufrat Turkish: Fırat; Arabic: الفرات (al-Furāt) Mediterranean Sea Middelhavet Numerous local names Literally “the middle sea”. Nile Nilen Arabic: النيل (an-Nīl) Formed with the Norwegian suffixed definite article. Red Sea Rødehavet (Bokmål); Raudehavet (Nynorsk) Arabic: البحر الأحمر; several other local names A translated name. Rhine Rhinen German: Rhein; French: Rhin; Dutch: Rijn The Norwegian definite ending -en replaces a preposed article found in some local usage. Seine Seinen French: Seine, conventionally la Seine Formed by replacing the French article with the Norwegian suffixed definite article. Thames Themsen English: Thames Formed with a Norwegian spelling and definite ending. Tiber Tiber Italian: Tevere A traditional form ultimately based on Latin Tiberis.
Names not normally classified as Norwegian exonyms
Several names that differ from their English equivalents are nevertheless endonyms:
Brussel is the Dutch name of Brussels and therefore a local endonym, not a Norwegian exonym. The French endonym is Bruxelles. Antwerpen is the Dutch endonym of Antwerp. French Anvers is another local-language name, but Norwegian normally uses Antwerpen. København is the Danish endonym of Copenhagen. Göteborg is the Swedish spelling of Gothenburg and is the current Norwegian place-name form. Norwegianised forms occur in derivatives such as Bokmål gøteborger, but Gøteborg is not the spelling recommended by Språkrådet. Roma, Torino, Napoli, Firenze, Venezia and Praha are local endonyms adopted into modern Norwegian usage. Beijing is the official pinyin romanisation of the Chinese endonym and Moskva is a romanised form of Russian Москва. They are therefore not treated in the same way as traditional exonyms such as Peking.
Multilingual places
A name used in Norwegian is not an exonym when it is also a well-established local name, even if it is not the majority-language form.
Norwegian has traditionally used Swedish names for many places in bilingual Finland, including Helsingfors for Finnish Helsinki, Nyslott for Finnish Savonlinna, and Tavastehus for Finnish Hämeenlinna. Because Swedish is a local official language in Finland, these Swedish forms are normally classified as endonyms rather than Norwegian exonyms.
Similar complications occur with rivers, mountain ranges and regions extending across several language areas. Donau, for example, is an endonym along the German-speaking part of the Danube, but functions as a conventional external name in relation to sections where the local names include Slovak Dunaj, Hungarian Duna, Croatian and Serbian Dunav, Romanian Dunărea and Ukrainian Дунай.
Historical and obsolete forms
Superseded Norwegian exonyms and spellings
The following forms occur in older Norwegian writing or older geographical reference works but are not the ordinary current forms. They include genuine exonyms as well as spellings replaced by new transcription systems.
Older form Current form Place Reason or status Florents Firenze Florence Danish- and German-mediated exonym replaced by the Italian endonym. Grekenland Hellas Greece Former country name. Herakleion Iráklio Heraklion Herakleion is retained for the historical or ancient name; Iráklio is used for the modern city. Kania Khaniá Chania Replaced under the modern Norwegian transcription system for Greek. Neapel Napoli Naples Danish- and German-mediated exonym replaced by the Italian endonym. Peking Beijing Beijing Traditional exonym replaced by official pinyin romanisation. Pireus Pireás Piraeus Replaced under the modern Norwegian transcription system for Greek. Rhodos Rodos Rhodes Older spelling; Språkrådet refers it to Rodos. Syrakus Siracusa Syracuse, Sicily Syrakus remains a historical name for the ancient Greek city; the modern Italian city is Siracusa. Venedig Venezia Venice Danish- and German-mediated exonym replaced by the Italian endonym.
Other changes, such as Kiev to Kyiv, Kasan to Kazan, and older Chinese spellings to pinyin forms, principally reflect changes in the source language or in Norwegian transcription policy rather than the replacement of a traditional Norwegian name in the narrow sense.
Historical German, Swedish, Polish or other local names should also be distinguished from Norwegian exonyms. Names such as Danzig, Breslau, Stettin, Königsberg, Reval, Dorpat and Pressburg were locally used endonyms in particular historical periods. Modern Norwegian normally uses Gdańsk, Wrocław, Szczecin, Kaliningrad, Tallinn, Tartu and Bratislava, but the older names remain appropriate when referring specifically to the historical cities under those names.
Former Norwegian territories now in Sweden
Some traditional Norwegian forms refer to territories that belonged wholly or partly to Norway before being ceded to Sweden. They were Norwegian endonyms during the period of Norwegian rule and are therefore not exonyms in their original historical contexts. In modern writing they are normally reserved for those historical periods.