Those with an Estonian heritage living in Australia will occasionally come across a name that resonates as Estonian, and given Estonians make up less than 0.03% of the global population with Australia being about as far away as you can from where the vast majority of Estonians live, that’s quite rare!
By Mark Narustrang
Like many European countries, Estonian names are broad in origin, including Germanic and Scandinavian lineages and aside from the most popular names, its not always easy to discern, but there is a certain ‘something’ that provides a clue – even if you are not an Estonian language speaker. Maybe it’s an atypical double vowel or consonant or a profusion of ‘P’s, but there are giveaways.
You can stumble across this anywhere. It might be a new co-worker or maybe a customer service name tag, but perhaps the most attention is drawn when an Estonian name gets mentioned in the media.
An example is the just released Netflix Australian drama series, Territory, which stars Anna Torv. Anna has Estonian heritage through her father (not to be confused with her similarly prominent namesake aunt, Anna dePeyster – nee Torv – formerly Murdoch and Mann).
Which made us at eesti.org.au, wonder what other prominent Australians have Estonian heritage? (Our criterion for prominence is that they have a Wikipedia page!)
Here is our list – do you know others?
Sir Arvi Parbo – Former professional Director and Chairman and prominent mining magnate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvi_Parbo
Lachlan, James and Elisabeth Murdoch – children of Rupert Murdoch and Anna Torv with varying media interests. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murdoch_family
Aivi Luik – Played over 30 times for the Australian women’s soccer team, the Matildas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aivi_Luik
Dane Rampe – Over 200 game AFL player for the Sydney Swans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dane_Rampe
Erik Paartalu – Professional soccer player including locally with A-League teams Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Paartalu
Alyla Browne – Actress including the role of the young Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max Furiosa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyla_Browne
Gert Selheim – Former architect and designer, famed for designing the Qantas flying kangaroo logo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gert_Sellheim
Vicki Viidikas – Former poet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicki_Viidikas
Peter Pedaja – Former adventurer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peeter_Pedaja
Credits: Written by Mark Narustrang.