Aaltonen

Aaltonen is a Finnish surname. It is derived from the root Aalto, meaning wave, together with the Finnish suffix -nen, which commonly indicates origin or descent. The name thus roughly means “descendant of Aalto” or “from the place of the wave.”

The surname is most common in Finland, where it is borne by Finnish speakers and, to a lesser extent, Swedish-speaking Finns. Outside Finland, Aaltonen occurs among Finnish communities in Sweden, the United States, Canada, and other countries that saw Finnish emigration, particularly in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Aaltonen belongs to the broader Finnish pattern of -nen surnames, many of which have toponymic or patronymic origins. A related surname is Aalto, from the same root, and historical records may show related variants.

Notable bearers of the name appear in various fields such as sports, science, and the arts, but no single figure is universally associated with the surname. In Finland, Aaltonen is considered a standard example of a patronymic/toponymic surname.

See also: Aalto.