Origin of the name Kainuu has been a disputed subject among Finnish historians and linguistics. Kainuu is a region of Finland. The reason for the controversy is the speculated connection between areas known as Kainuu and Kvenland, both historical lands in Fennoscandia.
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Theory one: Swampy land
As a part of his theory about the origin of the name "kven", Professor of History in Oulu University Jouko Vahtola suggested that also the name "kainuu" would basically have the same origin. To prove his point, Vahtola constructed a hypothetical proto-Germanic word "*χwainō" that would have meant "swampy land". Linguistic support for this part of his theory has been reserved, as the expected etymology of *χwainō would not have been "kainuu" like Vahtola had thought. There is also no evidence that the word "kainuu" had ever been used in the meaning of "swampy land" in any Finnish dialects.
Theory two: Hole
Professor of Germanic Philology in Helsinki University Jorma Koivulehto has proposed that "kainuu" is originally the same as the Germanic word for a hole or mouth, "*gain-". In the meaning "water-route" or "water-body", *Kainu- was originally a toponymic prefix in SW Finland, and during the Iron Age it was gradually established as the name of the land surrounding the northern coasts Bothnian Gulf. Linguistically this etymology is seen as more acceptable. The area originally known as Kainuu seems to have been the central part of Ostrobothnia where Karelians could access the Gulf of Bothnia in the Middle Ages, giving also conceptual support for the theory.
Noteworthy in this context is also the word "kainu", which is only known in lower Satakunta in Finland. It had a completely different meaning being the middle stake in a work sled, also clearly deriving from *gain-.
Like the theory one, Koivulehto believes the words "kainu" and Kven to be interconnected. After the Germanic etymology of the *Kainu- names was forgotten, the name was adopted in the Scandinavian dialects in a new form.
Theory three: Sami background
Similar sounding words to "kainuu" also exist in the Sami languages. In North Samic, Gáidnu is a rope made of roots for boats or fishing nets. Gáidnulaŝ refers to a clumsy person and Geaidnu stands for a road or a way. In the early saami dictionaries Kainolats had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish man while Kainalats had the meaning Norwegian or Swedish women, it could also have the meaning peasant. Helsing-by or Torneå was referred to as Cainho.