Kosken

Kosken is a Finnish term used as both a toponym and a surname. Etymologically, it derives from koski, meaning rapids or waterfall, with the suffix -en forming a possessive or descriptive place-name sense. In Finnish toponymy, such formations are common for locations situated by rivers or other flowing water features and for sites that historically provided water power.

In toponymy, Kosken appears as the name of several small localities in different parts of Finland. Because Finland has many minor settlements with short, descriptive names, the same toponym can exist in multiple, unrelated places. These Kosken localities are typically rural or suburban areas rather than independent municipalities, and they illustrate how natural features like rapids have shaped place-naming across regions.

Kosken is also used as a Finnish surname. Like other surnames derived from geography, it likely originated from an ancestral residence near a place called Kosken or from an association with a landscape feature described by the word koski. As a surname, it may be found among individuals in Finland and among descendants of Finnish communities abroad.

See also: Koski, a related toponymic stem; Koskinen, a longer surname of similar origin; Koskenkorva, a place-name-derived term linked to Finnish geography and culture.