karjalainen

Karjalainen is a Finnish surname and demonym meaning "Karelian" or "from Karelia." It is formed from the place name Karelia (Finnish Karjala) with the adjectival suffix -inen, a productive pattern in Finnish surnames that denotes origin or belonging.

Historically, Karelia refers to the eastern borderlands of Finland and the areas now in the Russian Federation. The surname indicates ancestry tied to that region and became part of standard Finnish naming practice as families moved across Karelia and within Finland during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Karjalainen is a common surname in Finland and among Finnish diaspora communities in Sweden, North America, and other countries with Finnish immigration.

As a Finnish adjective, karjalainen also means "Karelian" and is used to describe people, culture, dialects, or products from Karelia. In personal naming, it is one of several toponymic surnames formed from geographic origins.