Swedish exonyms

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Below is list of Swedish language exonyms for places in non-Swedish-speaking areas of the world.

Older Swedish forms, which are not commonly used nowadays, are in brackets ().

In general

Diacritical marks (such as ´ ` ^ etc above letters) are generally stripped, except that Å, Ä, Ö, are kept, and usually also Ü and É (but È and Á are written E and A). Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic and Faroese Æ and Ø are often written as AE or Ä and Ö, especially in the press.

Foreign place names containing a direction such as South or Upper are often translated, e.g.:

• East Timor - Östtimor
• Northern Ireland - Nordirland
• South Africa - Sydafrika

but U.S. states nowadays keep their English names in Sweden:

• e.g. South Carolina and West Virginia

Albania

English name	Local name (Albanian)	Swedish name
Albania	Shqipëri/Shqipëria	Albanien
Tirana	Tiranë	Tirana

Argentina

English name	Local name (Spanish)	Swedish name
Patagonia	Patagonia	Patagonien
Tierra del Fuego	Tierra del Fuego	Eldslandet

Austria

English name	Local name (German)	Swedish name
Austria	Österreich	Österrike
Alps	Alpen	Alperna
Tyrol	Tirol	Tyrolen

Belgium

English name	Local name (Dutch/French)	Swedish name
Belgium	België/Belgique	Belgien
Bruges	Brugge/Bruges	Brygge
Brussels	Brussel/Bruxelles	Bryssel (Brüssel)
Ostend	Oostende/Ostende	Ostende
Ypres	Ieper/Ypres	Ypern

Bulgaria

English name	Local name (Bulgarian)	Swedish name
Bulgaria	Bâlgariya	Bulgarien
Balkan Mountains	Stara Planina	Balkanbergen
Danube	Dunav	Donau
Dobruja	Dobrudzha	Dobrudzja
Thrace	Trakiya	Thrakien

China

English name	Local name (Chinese)	Swedish name
China	Zhōngguó	Kina
Beijing	Běijīng	Peking or Beijing
Canton	Guangzhou	Kanton
Great Wall of China	Chángchéng	Kinesiska muren
Hong Kong	Xianggang	Hong Kong
Tiananmen Square	Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng	Himmelska fridens torg

Croatia

English name	Local name (Croatian)	Swedish name
Croatia	Hrvatska	Kroatien
Dalmatia	Dalmacija	Dalmatien
Danube	Dunav	Donau
Istria	Istra	Istrien
Slavonia	Slavonija	Slavonien

Cuba

English name	Local name (Spanish)	Swedish name
Cuba	Cuba	Kuba or Cuba
Havana	Habana	Havanna

Czech Republic

English name	Local name (Czech)	Swedish name
Czech Republic	Česká republika	Tjeckiska republiken/Tjeckien
Bohemia	Čechy	Böhmen
Elbe	Labe	Elbe
Moravia	Morava	Mähren
Prague	Praha	Prag
Silesia	Slezko	Schlesien

Denmark

English name	Local name (Danish)	Swedish name
Aabenraa	Aabenraa	Åbenrå
Aalborg	Aalborg	Ålborg
Aarhus	Aarhus	Århus
Elsinore	Helsingør	Helsingör
Copenhagen	København	Köpenhamn
Zealand	Sjælland	Själland

Newspapers in Sweden usually write all æ as ä or ae and all ø as ö, because of the lack of æ and ø on the Windows keyboard layout for Swedish, and historically because of the lack of them on Swedish typewriters. Swedish newspapers often write aa as å, even though both forms of the same sound exist in Danish.

Swedish Wikipedia write Danish place names using the original æ and ø, except for those listed above.

Egypt

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Egypt	Miṣr or Maṣr	Egypten
Alexandria	al-Iskandariyya	Alexandria
Cairo	al-Qāhira	Kairo
Luxor	al-Uqṣur	Luxor
Nile	an-Nīl	Nilen

Estonia

Estonia had a significant indigenous Swedish-speaking population until the mid-20th Century, so many of these names are not really exonyms in the strict sense of the word.

English name	Local name (Estonian)	Swedish name
Estonia	Eesti	Estland
Haapsalu	Haapsalu	Hapsal
Hiiumaa	Hiiumaa	Dagö
Kärdla	Kärdla	(Kärrdal)
Osmussaar	Osmussaar	Odensholm
Pakri	Pakri	Rågö
Ruhnu	Ruhnu	Runö
Saaremaa	Saaremaa	Ösel
Tallinn	Tallinn	Tallinn (Lindanäs, Räffle, Reval)
Tartu	Tartu	Tartu (Dorpat)
Vormsi	Vormsi	Ormsö

Faroe Islands

English name	Local name	Swedish name
Faroe Islands	Føroyar	Färöarna
Tórshavn	Tórshavn	Torshamn or Tórshavn

France

English name	Local name (French)	Swedish name
France	France	Frankrike
Alps	Alpes	Alperna
Aquitaine	Aquitaine	Akvitanien
Ardennes	Ardennes	Ardennerna
Burgundy	Bourgogne	Burgund
Corsica	Corse	Korsika
French Guiana	Guyane	Franska Guyana
New Caledonia	Nouvelle-Calédonie	Nya Kaledonien
Normandy	Normandie	Normandie or Normandiet
Pyrenees	Pyrénées	Pyrenéerna
Rhine	Rhin	Rhen

Germany

English name	Local name (German)	Swedish name
Germany	Deutschland	Tyskland
Alps	Alpen	Alperna
Gottorp	Gottorf	Gottorp
Rhine	Rhein	Rhen
Rhineland	Rheinland	Rhenlandet
Ruhr district	Ruhrgebiet	Ruhrområdet

Greece

English name	Local name (Greek)	Swedish name
Greece	Hellas	Grekland
Athens	Athina	Aten or Athen
Attica	Attiki	Attika
Boeotia	Viotia	Boiotien
Corfu	Kerkyra	Korfu
Corinth	Korinthos	Korinth
Crete	Kriti	Kreta
Cyclades	Kyklades	Kykladerna
Dodecanese	Dodekánisa	Dodekaneserna or Tolvöarna
Epirus	Ipeiros	Epirus
Euboea	Evvia	Euboia
Heraklion	Iraklio	Heraklion
Ionian Islands	Ionia nisia	Joniska öarna
Macedonia	Makedonía	Makedonien
Missolonghi	Mesolongi	Messolonghi
Naupactus	Nafpaktos	Naupaktos
Patras	Patra	Patras
Pireus	Peiraiás	Pireus
Rhodes	Rodos	Rhodos
Samothrace	Samothraki	Samothrake
Sparta	Sparti	Sparta
Thebes	Thivai	Thebe
Thessaloniki	Thessaloniki	Thessaloniki or Saloniki
Thessaly	Thessalia	Thessalien
Thrace	Thraki	Thrakien

Hungary

English name	Local name (Hungarian)	Swedish name
Hungary	Magyarország	Ungern
Danube	Duna	Donau

Iceland

English name	Local name (Icelandic)	Swedish name
Iceland	Ísland	Island
Heimaey	Heimaey	Hemön
Reykjavík	Reykjavík	Reykjavik
Vestmannaeyjar	Vestmannaeyjar	Västmannaöarna

Iraq

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Baghdad	Baġdād	Bagdad
Euphrates	al-Furāt	Eufrat
Tigris	Dijla	Tigris

Israel and Palestine

English name	Local name (Hebrew/Arabic)	Swedish name
Acre	‘Akko/‘Akkā	Akko
Bethlehem	Beyt Leḥem/Bayt Laḥm	Betlehem
Capernaum	Kfar Nahum/Talhum	Kafarnaum (Kapernaum)
Galilee	HaGalil/al-Jalīl	Galileen
Hebron	Ḥevron/al-Khalīl	Hebron
Jaffa	Yafo/Yaffa	Jaffa
Jericho	Yeriḥo/‘Arīḥā	Jeriko
Jerusalem	Yerushaláyim/al-Quds al-Sharif	Jerusalem
Judea	Yehuda/Yahudia	Judeen
Nazareth	Natzrat or Natzeret/al-Nāṣira or al-Naseriyye	Nasaret
Tiberias	Tverya/Ṭabariyya	Tiberias

Italy

English name	Local name (Italian)	Swedish name
Italy	Italia	Italien
Alps	Alpi	Alperna
Calabria	Calabria	Kalabrien
Campania	Campania	Kampanien
Florence	Firenze	Florens
Genoa	Genova	Genua
Liguria	Liguria	Ligurien
Lombardy	Lombardia	Lombardiet
Naples	Napoli	Neapel
Padua	Padova	Padua
Rome	Roma	Rom
Sardinia	Sardegna	Sardinien
Sicily	Sicilia	Sicilien
Syracuse	Siracusa	Syrakusa
Tiber	Tevere	Tibern
Turin	Torino	Turin
Tyrol	Tirolo	Tyrolen
Umbria	Umbria	Umbrien
Venice	Venezia	Venedig
Venetia	Veneto	Venetien
Vesuvius	Vesuvio	Vesuvius

Latvia

English name	Local name (Latvian)	Swedish name
Latvia	Latvija	Lettland
Courland	Kurzeme	Kurland
Latgale	Latgale	Lettgallen
Zemgale	Zemgale	Semgallen

Lebanon

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Lebanon	al-Libnān	Libanon
Beirut	Bayrūt	Beirut
Sidon	Ṣaydā	Sayda (Sidon)
Tyre	Ṣūr	Tyros

Lithuania

English name	Local name (Lithuanian)	Swedish name
Lithuania	Lietuva	Litauen
Lithuania Minor	Mažoji Lietuva	Lilla Litauen
Samogitia	Žemaitija	Samogitien

Luxembourg

English name	Local name (French/German/Luxembourgian)	Swedish name
Luxembourg	Luxembourg/Luxemburg/Lëtzebuerg	Luxemburg

Mexico

English name	Local name (Spanish)	Swedish name
Mexico City	Ciudad de México	Mexico City

Morocco

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Morocco	al-Maġrib	Marocko
Casablanca	ed-Dah el-Biḍa	Casablanca
Marrakesh	Murrākuš	Marrakech
Tangier	Ṭanjah	Tanger

The Netherlands

English name	Local name (Dutch)	Swedish name
(The) Netherlands	Nederland	Nederländerna
The Hague	Den Haag	Haag
Rhine	Rijn	Rhen

Norway

English name	Local name (Norwegian)	Swedish spelling
Bodø	Bodø	Bodö
Galdhøpiggen	Galdhøpiggen	Galdhöpiggen
Røros	Røros	Röros
Tromsø	Tromsø	Tromsö

The mutually intelligible Norwegian and Swedish languages have different spelling systems for the same letters, which means that Norwegian letters æ and ø often are modified in a Swedish context. The Norwegian spelling is possible in some circumstances.

Poland

English name	Local name (Polish)	Swedish name
Poland	Polska	Polen
Carpathians	Karpaty	Karpaterna
Galicia	Galicja	Galizien
Gdańsk	Gdańsk	Gdansk (Danzig)
Masuria	Mazury	Masurien
Pomerania	Pomorze	Pommern
Silesia	Śląsk	Schlesien
Szczecin	Szczecin	Stettin

Portugal

English name	Local name (Portuguese)	Swedish name
Lisbon	Lisboa	Lissabon

Republic of Ireland

English name	Local name (English)	Swedish name
Republic of Ireland		Irland

Romania

English name	Local name (Romanian)	Swedish name
Romania	România	Rumänien
Bucharest	Bucureşti	Bukarest
Carpathians	Carpați	Karpaterna
Danube	Dunărea	Donau
Dobruja	Dobrogea	Dobrudzja
Moldavia	Moldova	Moldavien
Transylvania	Transilvania	Transsylvanien
Wallachia	Țara Românească/Valahia	Valakiet

Russia

English name	Local name (Russian)	Swedish name
Russia	Rossiya	Ryssland
Bashkortostan	Bashkortostan	Basjkirien
Caucasus	Kavkaz	Kaukasien
Chechnya	Chechnya	Tjetjenien
Chukotka	Chukotka	Tjuktien
Chuvashia	Chuvashiya	Tjuvasjien
Ingria	Ingermanlandiya	Ingermanland
Ingushetia	Ingushetiya	Ingusjien
Kabardino-Balkaria	Kabardino-Balkariya	Kabardinien-Balkarien
Kalmykia	Kalmykiya	Kalmukien
Karachay-Cherkessia	Karachayevo-Cherkesiya	Karatjajen-Tjerkessien
Karelia	Kareliya	Karelen
Khakassia	Khakasiya	Chakassien
Mordovia	Mordoviya	Mordovien
North Ossetia-Alania	Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya	Nordossetien
Pechenga	Pechenga	Petsamo
Petrozavodsk	Petrozavodsk	Petrozavodsk or Petroskoj (Onegaborg)
Priozersk	Priozersk	Kexholm
Red Square	Krásnaya plóshchad	Röda torget
Saint Petersburg	Sankt Peterburg	Sankt Petersburg
Shlisselburg	Shlisselburg (Шлиссельбу́рг)	Nöteborg
Siberia	Sibir	Sibirien
Udmurtia	Udmurtiya	Udmurtien
Vyborg	Vyborg	Viborg
Zelenogorsk [Saint Petersburg suburb]	Zelenogorsk	Terijoki

Some of these names are not really exonyms in the strict sense of the word, as the places have been part of Sweden, some founded as such.

Saudi Arabia

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Jeddah	Jidda	Jeddah
Mecca	Makkah	Mekka
Medina	al-Madīnah	Medina
Riyadh	ar-Riyāḍ	Riyadh

Slovakia

English name	Local name (Slovak)	Swedish name
Slovakia	Slovensko	Slovakien
Carpathians	Karpaty	Karpaterna
Danube	Dunai	Donau

South Africa

English name	Local name (English/Afrikaans/Xhosa)	Swedish name
Cape Town	Cape Town/Kaapstad/iKapa	Kapstaden

Spain

English name	Local name (Spanish)	Swedish name
Spain	España	Spanien
Andalusia	Andalucía	Andalusien
Aragon	Aragón	Aragonien
Asturias	Asturias	Asturien
Balearic Islands	Islas Baleares (Catalan Illes Balears)	Balearerna
Basque Country	País Vasco (Basque Euskadi)	Baskien
Canary Islands	Islas Canarias	Kanarieöarna
Cantabria	Cantabria	Kantabrien
Castile-La Mancha	Castilla-La Mancha	Kastilien-La Mancha
Castile and León	Castilla y León	Kastilien och Leon
Catalonia	Cataluña (Catalan Catalunya)	Katalonien
Galicia	Galicia	Galicien
Pyrenees	Pireneos (Catalan Pirineus, Basque Pirinioak)	Pyrenéerna
Tenerife	Tenerife	Teneriffa

Switzerland

English name	Local name (German/French/Italian)	Swedish name
Alps	Alpen/Alpes/Alpi	Alperna
Rhine	Rhein/Rhin/Reno	Rhen

Syria

English name	Local name (Arabic)	Swedish name
Syria	as-Sūrīyah	Syrien
Aleppo	Ḥalab	Aleppo
Damascus	Dimashq	Damaskus
Euphrates	al-Furāt	Eufrat

Turkey

English name	Local name (Turkish)	Swedish name
Turkey	Türkiye	Turkiet
Anatolia	Anadolu	Anatolien
Antioch	Antakya	Antiochia
Bosphorus	Boğaziçi/İstanbul Boğazı	Bosporen
Cappadocia	Kapadokya	Kappadokien
Cilicia	Kilikya	Kilikien
Dardanelles	Çanakkale Boğazı	Dardanellerna
Edirne (Adrianople)	Edirne	Edirne (Adrianopel)
Ephesus	Efes	Efesos
Euphrates	Fırat	Eufrat
Gallipoli	Gelibolu	Gallipoli
Halicarnassus	Halikarnas	Halikarnassos
Istanbul (Constantinople)	İstanbul (Kostantiniyye)	Istanbul (Stanbul) (Konstantinopel) (Miklagarðr/Miklagård (ancient Norse in the Viking age))
Thrace	Trakya	Thrakien
Tigris	Dicle	Tigris
Trabzon (Trebizond)	Trabzon	Trabzon (Trapezunt)
Troy	Truva/Troia	Troja

Ukraine

English name	Local name (Ukrainian)	Swedish name
Ukraine	Ukrayina	Ukraina
Carpathians	Karpati	Karpaterna
Danube	Dunai	Donau
Galicia	Halychyna	Galizien
Kiev	Kyiv	Kiev

United Kingdom

English name	Local name (English)	Swedish name
United Kingdom		Förenade kungadömet
Great Britain		Storbritannien
Hebrides		Hebriderna
Inner Hebrides		Inre Hebriderna
Outer Hebrides		Yttre Hebriderna
Scotland		Skottland
Northern Ireland		Nordirland
Thames		Themsen
Orkney		Orkneyöarna
Shetland		Shetlandsöarna

Some areas beginning with British are translated, such as the British Virgin Islands into "Brittiska Jungfruöarna". (British Columbia in Canada nowadays kept)

United States of America

English name	Local name (English)	Swedish name
Appalachian Mountains		Appalacherna
California		Kalifornien
the Midwest		Mellanvästern
Rocky Mountains		Klippiga bergen
Southern United States		Sydstaterna

U.S. Virgin Islands

English name	Local name (English)	Swedish name
Virgin Islands		Jungfruöarna
U.S. Virgin Islands		Amerikanska Jungfruöarna

See also

• Names of places in Finland in Finnish and in Swedish - Swedish is one of the two official languages of Finland, so the Swedish names of places in Finland are not exonyms.
• List of European exonyms
• Names of European cities in different languages