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Work in progress

A pile of ro ad signs half-trashed and piled up on a building-site, to indicate the site is in construction.

Website under construction, a couple of entries still pending, no photos with the streets yet, layout not finalized...

This started with a book (last few pages under review) and so far 1889 of the 1891 articles entered, 1 or 2 links may go nowhere.

Logo of the Tallinn Children's Hospital Foundation

The Book

All author earnings of A Rambling Dictionary of Tallinn Street Names to be donated to the foundation or donate here.

If anyone could help or advise as to the legal mechanism, it would be appreciated, thanks!

The Website

Not intended at the beginning, the present website is taking on a life of its own, with plans for relevant discussion forums, picture galleries and, over time, more non-streetname entries.

In theory, it will be funded by advertising relevant to people in Tallinn, to be determined.

A percentage of profits (also to be determined) to be donated to the foundation. 

Contact

Photograph of Simon Hamilton in Pikk street, Tallinn.

Apparently, a company that uses its owner's name is considered more trustworthy because they put themselves on the line.

This is me, in Tallinn this spring (2025), on a 3-month spree to check details, take photos (about 12K), explore (ave. 15K/day), and so on. I think I covered every street in Kesklinn (apart from Mõigu), most of Põhja-Tallinn and some Kristiine.

For information, please contact Simon at this address dot com, thanks!

Names

Ründi (Rünt)

Gudgeon, groundling, Gobio gobio gobio. Part of a fish group. See also Siia.

Rünga (Rünk)

1) Block, crag; 2) Bank of clouds. It looked like one of those street-names decided (1993) years before the concrete hit the road... All the more so since its virtual neighbor is Panga. But pwned: term designating the Lasnamäe limestone banks.

Rutu (Rutt)

Haste, hurry. Street in between Alexander Nevski Cathedral and Toom-Kirik in Kiriku plats, thus-named after the couriers or runners who used there to abide (but not for long, one hopes) in the Middle Ages. Anagram of Turu, see Turu tänav.

Ruunaoja (Ruunaoja)

Gelding’s brook. After name of a former inn and possibly extant brooklet (although it may now be covered over) running into the Vaskjala canal (given its earliest recorded name of Vvaskæl [1241], that an area known for metal-smelting be known as *Vaski-ala [place of copper] seems quite plausible) leading to lake Ülemistejärve.

Rüütli (Rüütel)

Knight, cavalier. First recorded in 1423, it seems, as Ridderstrate, with the usual spelling suspects involving single and double ‘t’s, ‘er’s and ‘re’s. Renamed (1950-1987) as Rataskaevu during the Soviet occupation.

Saadu (1] Saad; 2] Saat; 3] Saadu)

1] Cock, haycock, stack, rick, usually man-high and conical, generally temporary; 2] Suite, entourage; 3] Acquisition, something got – kuidas saadud, nõnda läinud: easy come, easy go. Located in a hay-making group, it must be 1, but its Saadu looks more like a partitive, not genitive, which should be sao, cf. Wiedemann’s sād:sāu from (or to?) Baltic-Ger. Sade. Recent addition to the mini hay-and-harvest group. See Sarra.

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Wanted!

Beautiful photos of your street or Tallinn! Send them in! No remuneration planned for now, but will be attributed according to your preferences.