Korhonen

Korhonen is a surname originating in Finland, where it is the most common surname. The most common surname in Finland was Virtanen before 2009, when the number of people with the surname Korhonen exceeded the number of people with the surname Virtanen for the first time.

The word korho is not used in standard Finnish, but it and words derived from it are used in some dialects, and there are also related words both in standard Finnish and in closely related languages. In Karelian korhottoa means 'to be or move upright', 'to have one's head up high', 'to raise', 'to shake threateningly', 'to brandish', and 'to perk up one's ears', and korhota means 'to rise', 'to move up or upwards', 'to get up', 'to go up', 'to become wealthy', and 'to become rich'. Kohottaa, korottaa, and kohota are the most similar words in standard Finnish.

Korho has meant 'proud', 'rich', and 'boastful' in the southern parts of Finnish Lapland, and in Satakunta and Pirkanmaa it has meant 'large man'. In some dialects it has meant 'hearing-impaired', and it seems that this meaning was most likely derived from the 'to perk up one's ears' sense of korhottaa. In some places it has meant 'slightly stupid', 'inattentive', and 'clumsy': it appears likely that these meanings were derived from the 'hearing-impaired' sense. Dialectal nouns derived from korho are, for example, korhopää from Pöytyä meaning roughly 'one with a head of upright hair', and korholaiho from Ylistaro meaning 'a crop of cereal growing upright'.

The name originates from eastern Finland and is much older than its closest competitor for the title of the most common Finnish surname, Virtanen.

People with the surname

 * Aku Korhonen (1892−1960), Finnish actor
 * Erkki Korhonen (born 1956), Finnish director of opera, pianist
 * Gunnar Korhonen (1918–2001), Finnish economist, government minister
 * Janne Korhonen (taekwondo) (born 1970), Finnish taekwondoin
 * Janne Korhonen (football) (born 1979), Finnish footballer
 * Kalle Korhonen (1878–1938), Finnish politician
 * Kari Korhonen (born 1973), Finnish cartoonist
 * Keijo Korhonen (politician) (1934–2022), Finnish politician (foreign minister) and professor
 * Keijo Korhonen (ski jumper) (born 1956), Finnish ski jumper
 * Markus Korhonen (born 1975), Finnish ice hockey player
 * Martti Korhonen (born 1953), Finnish member of parliament
 * Paavo Korhonen (1928–2019), Finnish Nordic combined skier
 * Pekka Korhonen (born 1955), Finnish political scientist and professor
 * Pentti Korhonen (born 1951), Finnish motorcycle racer
 * (born 1977), Finnish fashion designer
 * Urpo Korhonen (1923–2009), Finnish cross-country skier