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Have an Estonia-related genealogical question, but cannot understand any Estonian? Here are some (hopefully) useful tips, some of the information that you are looking for may be just a few keystrokes or mouse-clicks away.
Could a name be of Estonian origin, or how many of its bearers currently reside in Estonia? Online phone book (eratelefon in, e.g., www.1182.ee or www.ee.ee) is a good starting point, as has been suggested here before. Another wonderful site ee.www.ee/Nimed actually provides the exact frequency of occurrence of any surname (perekonnanimi) or first name (eesnimi) in Estonia as of 1995, as long as there are more than 5 bearers (for privacy reasons). Search can be done by exact (täpne) spelling, or for names with up to 3 different letters or “errors” (viga).
Looks like an Estonian name, but what does it mean? A quick answer might be found in the Estonian-English-Estonian dictionary at www.ibs.ee/dict/ (Keep that site open in another window, as you might need to translate a few things on other Estonian websites). Got time and really interested in the origins of Estonian surnames? “Surname as a Historical Source” by Aadu Must can be found at www.erm.ee/pro/pro3/musting.html and is highly recommended. Amongst other things you will learn that Kennedy can be an Estonian surname. Note that this article covers the topic of the “true origins” of historical surnames, not why and how a large number of Estonians changed their German or other foreign-sounding surnames (and sometimes first names as well) into Estonian-sounding ones during the government-sponsored “name-Estonianisation campaign” in the 1930s.
A few other useful databases:
Album Academicum gives biographical data (incl., e.g., birthplace, father’s name and profession) for all people who were enrolled at Tartu University (until 1938, the only university in Estonia) at some time between 1918-1944. You can find the database at www.eha.ee/andmebaasid/frames/index-album.htm
Fill in “Perekonnanimi” (surname) and click on “Näita” (show).
At www.okupatsioon.ee/english/lists/index.html you can find alphabetical lists and biographical data on Estonian casualties in World War II, the destiny of Estonian officers, and people executed, imprisoned or deported during the periods of Soviet occupation of Estonia (1940-1941; 1944-1988). If your Estonian relative died in WW2 while serving in the German military, then the dates and places of his birth, death, and burial can be found at www.volksbund.de (click on “Gräbersuche Online” and then “zur Onlinesuche”).
Last, but not least, I also highly recommend the article “How to find relatives in Estonia?” by Urmas Haud, which can be found at www.aai.ee/~urmas/urm/vast.html
Good luck and best regards,
Alo Merilo
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