Some times I come across names that I can’t find a specific meaning for. Some names just aren’t made up of existing words sometimes. Still, it could also be that the translation websites are incomplete.
The websites on the internet that translate words, aren’t always enough to get the correct meaning. That’s why this topic needs guidance of helpful native Swedish speakers and of coarse anybody else who wants to chime in with some insight.
So my first name Is Källviken.
Viken => The Bay
Vik => Bay
Käll => Not sure (Well, source, )
Kåll => Cabbage
Kall => Cold
So if you are Swedish, what does Källviken translate to, to you?
Aha, so a spring well. The little pond has a source of water coming up from under the ground. And can be the starting point of a narrow creek that can grow into a river when more water sources add to it.
I wonder if the Spring bay is actually this one with the big horse-shoe cliff.
Still I am wondering about the “en” behind “Vik”.
Öster vik means Eastern bay
When I try “Öster viken” in the translator I get Eastern Gulf
There is a difference between Vik and Viken
So Käll vik would mean =>Spring bay
and Käll viken =>Spring Gulf ?
But the translator makes it Source the bay
Just a note, many modern place-names are derived from actual names, usually due to ease-of-use.
York is a good example of this; it’s directly derived from “Jorvík”, meaning “Bay of wild boars”, which was the name of the city during its Viking control.
When the Christians arrived and eventually overtook control of Jorvík, they changed the name to “York”, since it’s easier to pronounce in English, thus you won’t find a direct meaning of the word “York” itself.
Now, I’m not Swedish myself (I’m Norwegian), but many Scandinavian places are usually named after nearby interesting locations/derived from older names/the way the locals refer to the location. Not all of which make any sense or have any meaning behind them, although this isn’t exclusive to Scandinavian names.
As for my thought on OPs matter; I believe it means “Kjell’s Bay”, as “Käll” is the Swedish variant of the Norse name “Kjell”. The “en” at the end of “Källviken” is likely just an addition to “Källvik” due to the local way of talking in general (I see similar things everywhere here in Norway, where place names ending with “en” are used interchangeably with names without). As a side note, “Kjell / Kjetil / Kætil” are all names meaning “kettle”, so one could argue Källviken means “The kettle bay” / “The bay of the kettle”
TL;DR:
My belief is that Källviken means “Kjell’s Bay”, where “Käll” is the Swedish variant of the Norse name “Kjell”, indicating it’s named after a person of importance.
Interesting.
I looked at synonyms for kettle; cauldron, pot, basin in english to find a connection
synonyms for bay; cave, bayou, fiord, basin
However, in the end we have no way to get to a conclusion if there are multiple possibilities. Only the devs know what they had in mind. If you look at other names it is clear that the devs very often refer to a geographical location in the game. Mountain ranges, waterways, etc. There is e.g. the location Kållebyviken and the town Kålleby is located on a bay. It was this what made me ponder a bit more about Källviken.
There are of course other names that I want to examine a bit more like; Bjur-fallet, Dam-fallet to see if there is a connection with the story or the map.
Same with Östervik, Björkvik, Yttervik etc.
Like Björkvillan is actually a villa at the edge of a Birch forest. For Björkvik => Birch bay I haven’t yet checked if indeed there is connection with birch trees and the bay. Just showing my thoughts about this.
This is very true, and likely a result of speeding up the naming process. That being said, this is also the case with many IRL Scandinavian locations.
There are also locations in the game with names that are either obviously or arguably named after a person (Margretelund is the first that comes to mind) instead of geographical factors. Many location names are also real locations in Sweden, or at least they share names.
It’s extremely common in Scandinavia to name places either after people or geographical factors, and most names have meanings related to objects/places, so translating location names aren’t really feasible due to multiple meanings/origins behind the names used. That being said, I agree that only the devs knows the true meaning/reference behind the location names, as well as which names are named for geographical factors, and which are named after people.
Many Scandinavian names, as mentioned, mean something (often objects or locations), but they can often be either a first name, middle name, or last name / family name.
As a former indie game developer, I can say this in regards to video game location names;
Most names are either, as you mentioned, “lazily” named after nearby geographical factors or named after IRL locations. It just speeds up the process of naming hundreds of locations, which is quite a daunting task (especially if original names are required). As for the names that are named after IRL locations, their origin meanings will often derive from that, even if it’s unrelated to the game itself, leading to debates about the meaning of the names used in games.
TL;DR:
My belief is that the dev team named locations after IRL locations where applicable to make the game more “believable”, but used geographical factors for naming the majority of locations in the game to give them a “fake connection” to the game location. This saves time and costs without sacrificing immersion, but will lead to some names being non-translatable by fans/players without confirmation from the devs, due to the nature of how Scandinavian locations are named IRL.
I did some more digging and I found something significant for solving the name Källviken. The Google translator gave one meaning that might fit some intel in the lore of GZ.
If we go back to the mission “First Contact” we find a piece of intel that fits the word Käll, namely ‘Source’.
In this mission we find a Map with a “Signal intelligence readout” and written coordinates pointing to the beach at Källviken where we find red shipping containers.
The intel reads:
“Shortly before what would soon become known as Cataclysm Day, the Bertil Ludvig recon team sent to Iboholmen Castle apparently managed to track an emitter using an enemy signature. Its coordinates seem to indicate the nearby south shoreline of Iboholmen, more specifically the small beach of Källviken, suggesting that the machines found at the ruins may have originally come from there.”
“…the machines found at the ruins may have originally come from there” => Source.
And since Källviken is not a bay per sé, but a slightly curved shoreline / beach, I believe that Source Cove or Source Beach would be the right meaning. The closest real bay is the one I posted a picture of, with the beautiful Horse-shoe cliff.
That’s an interesting connection! It doesn’t make much sense to name it that traditionally, but it makes lots of sense in the form of a lore easter egg.
Again, the name itself has multiple meanings, especially when directly translated, but this is an interesting find indicating there may be more of these types of easter eggs out there
Two names I need native speakers for to see if it means anything to them. I will show what I come up with. “Fallet” is hard to find.
Bjur-fallet => carry the case
Dam-fallet => Lady case > beauty case? or Fallen woman?
Other names
Kålleby-viken =>Kålleby bay
Bre-viken => Wide bay
Ytter-vik => Outer bay
Björk-vik => Birch cove
Öster-vik => Eastern Bay
Vik-torp => Bay croft
dy-vik => That bay
Knaper-änna => Barely yet
Bjur-fallet = the old beaver fall (might just be the beaver fall)
Dam-fallet = the lady fall
Kålleby-viken = Kålleby bay
ytter-vik = outer bay
björk-vik = Birch bay
Östervik = eastern bay
vik-torp = bay cottage
dy-vik = mudbay
knaper-änna = barely only one left (this one is almost impossible to translate)
When swedish places are named something with fallet, does fallet mean a waterfall? (Vattenfall). Or is fallet another name for a steep hill or a cliffside?
At least here in Norway, many places are named with foss or fossen, which is the norwegian word for waterfall.
…there aren’t many waterfalls on Östertörn, though.
