When the Swedes founded a town in the village of Forsby (later known as Koskela) in 1548, they called it Helsinge fors. The town was commonly known as Helsinge or Helsing. It was from this name that the modern Finnish name was derived.
As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, Helsinki was known as Gel’singfors (Гельсингфорс).
In Helsinki slang, the city is called Stadi (from the Swedish word stad meaning “city”). People from other areas of Finland use the name Hesa, and the Sami name for Helsinki is Helsset.
