Streetsign reading "Tallinn Streets dot com" Header

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!

Home

Tuulemäe (Tuulemägi)

Windy mountain, windy hill, windswept peak, dare I say it... wuthering heights? The latter was in fact translated as Vihurimäe, see Vihuri, which seems a bit strong. Actually, street parallel to Majaka, so there may be a high point around somewhere. See Mäe for discussion.

Tuulenurga (Tuulenurk)

‘Windy corner’, athough the nurk:nurga ending could also refer to a paddock. Estification of the earlier ‘Windeck’ summer house, streetname replacing the western strip of Kose in (what seems to be called, perhaps informally) Windecki park, former poolmõis (see Mõisa) once known as Weissi. Should I dig deeper? No.

Ubalehe (Ubaleht)

Buck or bog bean, Menyanthes trifoliata, a flowering plant of bogs and marshes. One of the Mähe flower-name group, see Ussilaka.

Udeselja (Udeselg)

Lit. downy-back, moths of the lutestring (nothing to do with lutes, but from lustrine, an old term for silk derived from Italian lustrino, a Genoa-made silk fabric, itself from Latin lustrare, to brighten or illumine) and related families:

  • Ahhaat-udeselg, buff arches (lit. agate lutestring), Habrosyne pyritoides
  • Hall-udeselg, poplar lutestring (lit. grey), Tethea or
  • Kevad-udeselg, yellow horned (lit. spring [season]), Achlya flavicornis
  • Silmik-udeselg, figure of eighty (lit. ‘eyed’, the 80 being the white markings on its forewings), T. ocularis
  • Vaarika-udeselg, peach blossom (of course, see Vaarika…), Thyatira batis

All of which known to the local police. Part of a lepidopteran group. See also Uneliblika.

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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.