Names
Vääna (Vääna):
Various explanations for this… It may be named after a nearby manor, thought to have originally been a fortress, and later (1306/1325?) a poolmõis (see Mõisa) belonging to Padise monastery. Known historically as Faehna or Feyena, Veghenoya (all 14th-C) where the name (with an Oja tacked on) may have derived from MLG vēen, vēyen, etc., to hate or treat with hostility, evolving into Ger. feien, to render invulnerable (cognates Ger. Feind, enemy and Eng. fiend), a reasonable name for a fortress… Or, and this is easier to accept, from the nearby river called Vääna! But, as approx. 66 M years of gallinaceous evolution warn us, was the river named for its meandering course (cf. väänama, to twist, poss. from Proto-Germanic *wenda-, giving Ger. winden ‘to wring or wind’, etc., and Eng. ‘wend’), or did the verb bend to blend with vēen, vēyen? Anyone’s guess. Formerly Raadio (see Tähetorni) (until 1927), then Pioneeri (see Pioneeride) (1927-59), and Lao (see Moonalao) (1959-60).
Vaari (Vaar)
Grandfather, old man. The expression Vaar ja moor (see Moora) suggests it comes from Swedish where far and mor mean father and mother. Street, interestingly, named for being on the wrong side of the track to Hallivanamehe. See Äia.
