Koskela

Koskela is a Finnish surname and place name. The name derives from the Finnish word koski, meaning rapids, with the suffix -la forming a toponymic meaning “a place by the rapids” or “the homestead by the rapids.” As a surname, Koskela is common in Finland and among people of Finnish heritage abroad, particularly in North America and Northern Europe. It is one of several toponymic surnames in Finnish that identify a family by a locality or landscape feature rather than a patronymic.

There are multiple places in Finland named Koskela, including small villages and district-type divisions within municipalities. The use of Koskela as a place name reflects historical settlement patterns along rivers and streams.

In genealogical and linguistic contexts, Koskela is studied as part of Finnish onomastics, illustrating how landscape features contributed to the formation of family names in the 19th and 20th centuries. The name continues to appear in contemporary records, census data, and genealogical research, underscoring its enduring presence in Finnish geography and heritage.