Pohjoiset

Pohjoiset is a Finnish term meaning “the northerners” or “northern people.” It can function as a plural adjective or as a noun referring to people from northern regions or cultures. The form is formed from pohjoinen, meaning north, with the collective suffix -iset, which in Finnish is used to create demonyms or group labels.

Usage and scope. In geographic, ethnographic, and literary contexts, pohjoiset serves as a generic label for populations associated with northern areas. It is not a precise or widely used self-designation for a specific group, and in modern writing it is often replaced by more exact regional identifiers, such as pohjoissuomalaiset (people of Northern Finland) or other locality-based terms. In historical or ethnographic texts, pohjoiset may appear as a broad umbrella term for northern peoples of a larger region, sometimes overlapping with references to Sámi or other northern cultures. As with many broad demonyms, its interpretation depends on the historical and contextual frame.

Context and relationships. The concept is commonly contrasted with eteläiset (“the Southerners”) in discussions that group populations by regional origin. In Finland, the term maps loosely to communities living in northern provinces or Arctic-adjacent areas and is more often encountered in descriptive or literary contexts than in contemporary demographic usage.

See also: Lapland, Sámi, Nordic countries, Northern Europe, Finnish language.