[eesti keeles] [in English] [по-русски]

MINISTRY OF FINANCE, Minister of Public Administration

PLACE NAMES BOARD OF ESTONIA

[main page] [news] [lists of names] [summary] [links] [UNGEGN Baltic Division]

Summary

Summary of documents available in Estonian.

Place Names Act and other connected legal acts

Place Names Act (5 Dec. 2003)

See also the English translation of the Act.

Connected legal acts

• Establishment of the Place Names Board (1 July 2004. Updated version.)
• Statutes of the Place Names Board (8 July 2004)
• Procedures for the fixation and use of place names (19 June 2013)
• Procedures for determining whether a place name is in the Estonian language (22 June 2004)
• Procedure for establishing commemorative names (22 June 2004)
• Designation of the Office of Onomastic Expertise (17 June 2004)
• Statutes for the maintenance of the National Place Names Register (3 September 2004. Updated version.)
• Adoption of transcription and transliteration tables for place names (20 November 2008)

Other reading

• Terms used in the Place Names Act (not yet updated to the new Act)
• The Place Names Act and its purpose
• Some rules of orthography for Estonian place names
• Instructions on the standardization of street names (recommendations of the Place Names Board, June 8, 2004)
• Problems attached to the practising of the Place Name Law in Norway (Botolv Helleland)
• The spelling of the name of Tallinn in Russian texts (extract from a letter by the Institute of Estonian Language to the Language Inspection, August 19, 2002)

Place Names Board

Composition

• Composition of the Board (current list of members)
• Nomination of the Board (order of the Government, 1 July 2004 and subsequent changes)
  • second composition of the Board (2002–2004)
  • first composition of the Board (1997–2002, order of the Government, 17 June 1997 and subsequent changes)

Meetings of the Board

• 29 May 2017 (minutes)
• . . .
• 20 December 2016 (minutes)
• . . .
• 26 June 2015 (minutes of an e-mail meeting
• Annex 1: Asking for an opinion of the Place Names Board
• Annex 2: Petition
• 10 June 2015 (minutes)
• Annex 1: Taavi Pae, Madli-Johanna Maidla, Raivo Aunap, Kiira Mõisja. Research into the possible quantity of place names (slides)
• 22 April 2015 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• Annex 1: Parts of Lake Peipsi
• Annex 2: Updated list of approved names of streams
• 2 December 2014 (minutes)
• 6 November 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 14 October 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 8 October 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 7 October 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 31 July 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 11 June 2014 (minutes)
• Annex 1: Approved names of streams
• 10 June 2014 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• Annex 1: Approved names of lakes (.doc)
• Annex 2: Deleted names of lakes (.doc, 6,97 MB)
• Annex 3: Approved names of islands (.doc)
• Annex 4: Changed names of islands (.doc)
• Annex 5: Deleted names of islands (.doc)
• 26 November 2013 (minutes)
• 11 November 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 2 October 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 20 June 2013 (minutes)
• 29 May 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 2 May 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 15 April 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 26 February 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 7 February 2013 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 27 September 2012 (minutes)
• Annex. Development plan of place names standardization for the years 2013–2017
• 24 May 2012 (minutes)
• 16 February 2012 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 14 December 2011 (minutes)
• 8 June 2011 (minutes)
• 1 June 2011 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 14 January 2011 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 9 November 2010 (minutes)
• boundaries of Haanimaa
• 27 October 2010 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 17 May 2010 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 19 April 2010 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 22 February 2010 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 19 November 2009 (minutes)
• 4 June 2009 (minutes)
• 10 March 2009 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 23 February 2009 (minutes of an e-mail meeting)
• 18 December 2008 (minutes)
• 23 April 2008 (minutes)
• 12 December 2007 (minutes)
• 20 March 2007 (minutes)
• 13 December 2006 (minutes)
• 19 April 2006 (minutes)
• 15 November 2005 (minutes)
• list of lake names approved by the Place Names Board and explanatory notes
• 16 June 2005 (minutes)
• 12 October 2004 (minutes)
• 8 June 2004 (minutes)
• 18 November 2003 (minutes)
• 24 April 2003 (minutes)
• 17 December 2002 (minutes)
• 5 March 2002 (minutes)
  • press release on the meeting
• 18 Oct. 2001 (minutes)
  • The name Turbuneeme in colloquial usage and written sources
  • Names of land property units in cadastres
• 9 Feb. 2001 (minutes)
• 13 Oct. 2000 (minutes)
• 17 May 2000 (minutes)
  • Recommendation on the choice of names for parishes (July 19, 2000)
• 10 Nov. 1999 (minutes)
• 14 June 1999 (minutes)
• 19 Feb. 1999 (minutes)
• 11 Dec. 1998 (minutes)
  • Critical review of the address recommendations by Eesti Post (Henn Saari)
• 12 Nov. 1998 (minutes)
• 7 Nov. 1997 (minutes)
• 10 Sept. 1997 (minutes)
  • Agenda of the seminar at the Institute of Estonian Language: Legal Aspects of Place Names (28–29 Aug. 1997)
• 20 June 1997 (minutes)
  • Use of parallel names on maps and in text
  • Review of the meeting in Rīga (April 1997)

Working Group on the Names of Populated Places

Data on the changes in 2001

See the minutes of the Place Names Board meeting (18 October 2001).

Data on the changes in 2000

Applications to change the list of names (13 October 2000).

Data on the reform of 1998

• Changes in the list of populated places (25 November 1998)
• Consolidated report of the meetings of the Working Group on Populated Places (27 October 1998)
• Letter of the Minister of the Interior to county governors on the continuation of the reform of populated places (16 April 1998)

Data on the reform of 1997

• Official list of populated places
  Government decree (18 December 1997); all names in a single file (81K), arranged by counties and parishes. Main text in Estonian. Published in Riigi Teataja (state gazette) I 1997, 95/96, 1577
• List of populated places by counties:
  Draft list, updated to the final version (1997/1998). Asterisks in the list denote new or changed names
  Harjumaa | Hiiumaa | Ida-Virumaa | Jõgevamaa | Järvamaa | Läänemaa | Lääne-Virumaa | Põlvamaa | Pärnumaa | Raplamaa | Saaremaa | Tartumaa | Valgamaa | Viljandimaa | Võrumaa
• Changes in the draft list of populated places (18 November 1997)
• Consolidated report for the meetings of the Working Group (30 Sept. 1997; introduction)
• Comments and suggestions presented to local governments:
  Harjumaa | Hiiumaa | Ida-Virumaa | Jõgevamaa | Järvamaa | Läänemaa | Lääne-Virumaa | Põlvamaa | Pärnumaa | Raplamaa | Saaremaa | Tartumaa | Valgamaa | Viljandimaa | Võrumaa

See also lists of place names.

Place names legislation 1997–2004

Place Names Act

11 Dec. 1996. With later updates. See also the English translation of the same Act.

Connected legal acts

• Regulations to verify if a place name is in the Estonian language (4 Sept. 1997)
• Regulations for approving memorial names (4 Sept. 1997)
• Appointment of the Office for Onomastic Expertise and a Supervisory Body (17 June 1997)
• Statute of the National Place Names Register (Government regulation, 24 November 1998)

Documents of the Governmental Place Names Committee 1994–1996

• Recommendations on the standardization of farm (property) names (25 Febr. 1995)
• Summary of name-changes approved by the Committee (1994-1996)
  In three parts. I. Recommended names of undersea features approved by the Committee. Columns: 1 - formerly used name, 2 - recommended name, 3 - location, 4 - date of the meeting. II. Place names from the island of Naissaar, as proposed by the Ministry of the Environment (6 July 1995). Columns: 1 - proposed name, 2 - approved name, 3 - location. III. Decisions on 15 April 1996 concerning 1) the names of some streams in Central Estonia, 2) the names of territorial water bodies bordering Estonia. Recommended Estonian names are: Läänemeri 'Baltic Sea', Liivi laht 'Gulf of Rīga', Kura kurk 'Straight of Irbe' [Latvian: Irbes jūras šaurums].

National standardization of place names in the 1930's

• Law on the Standardization of Names of Places and Registered Immovables (19 April 1938)
• Regulation on the Standardization of Names of Places and Registered Immovables (11 October 1938)