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The Origin of the Name. Karpovka River

nab. r. Karpovki, d. 5, korp. 16, of.201-202, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 197101

Four little huts stood by the Kuopri-Yoki river (what we call Karpovka).
Petersburg: Interesting Toponyms
photo
Jermaine

On Swedish maps of the 17th–18th centuries, the present-day Aptekarsky Island is called in Finnish Korpi-saari (on the 1676 map) or Korpisari (on the 1701 map). Many authors point out that the name of this island was originally also used for Karpovka, and its current name “appeared as a result of a cursory, inaccurate pronunciation of the Finnish name of this river — Korpi-joki.”

Petrov (1885) mentions the Finnish name of the river, referring to a household census conducted by clerks of the St. Petersburg provincial office in December 1713: “…four small huts stood by the Kuopri-Joki river (our Karpovka).”

Pylyaev in 1887 writes, “the Aptekarsky Island adjacent to the Petersburg side is written in Finnish as Korpisaari on the 1676 map and still retains its ancient name on the Karpovka river, from Finnish Korpi — uninhabited, deserted forest.” This etymological description remains practically unchanged in Brockhaus and Efron.

Researchers of the 20th century offer a different interpretation of the Finnish word. Thus, in the well-known book “Why Are They Called So,” we read:

The Finnish word … “korpi” corresponds to the Russian words — “wilderness,” “dense forest,” “forested swamp.” Hence, some historians of Petersburg translated “Korpisari” as “Wild, forested island” or “Spruce island,” and “Korpi-joki” as “Forest swamp river.” However, there was also another opinion.

The fact is that in Finnish there is also the word “korppi,” which in Russian means “raven.” Therefore, another translation was proposed — “Raven island.”

The data from Swedish maps do not have a decisive voice here, since Swedish cartographers inaccurately conveyed the pronunciation of words from a foreign language. How the Finns pronounced the name of this island (and accordingly the name of the river) — “korpi” or “korppi” — remains a mystery.

Thus, the modern name of the Karpovka river traces back to Finnish words that can be translated in two ways: “Forest river” or “Raven river.”

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Карповка_(рукав_Невы)

photo
Jermaine

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