The Swedish realms three highest estates constituted of the : Nobles, priests and burghers which had Swedish as their language. The intermingling and intermarriages between the noble class and the clerical upper crust was an a socially ascending and distinctive element in several Nordic countries after the Reformation. As a result the gentry in Finland was constituted by nobles, clerical and some burgher families . In time other families where included in the higher estates without originally belonging to any of the estates. This was above all a feature in the 19th century Finland, contributed by immigration of families from especially German speaking countries which generally took part in mercantile activities.
A notable number of the older Finnish gentry are of Finnish decent which during the course of 700 years as a part of Sweden adopted Swedish as their language. As Swedish was for the greater part of Finnish history the cultural language, its significance can not be understated
Older Finnish *gentry of Finnish origin *( - 1650)
Older Finnish gentry of non-Finnish origin ( - 1650)
*Aminoff (1600 - ) Russia *Bonsdorff (1600 - ) Germany *Colliander (1600 - ) Sweden *Gripenberg (1600 - ) Sweden *Hornborg (1600 - ), Germany-Poland *Knorring, von (1500 - ) Germany *Mannerheim (1600 - ) Netherlands [] *Meinander (1600 - ) Germany or Sweden *Ramsay (1100 - ) Scotland *Rosenlew (1600 - ) Germany *Schauman (1600 - ) Germany *Stjernvall (1600 - ) Sweden *Willebrand, von (1500 - ) Germany *Wrede (1200 - ) Germany
Finnish gentry of non-Finnish origin 1650-1850)
*Björkenheim, Sweden *Bremer, Germany *Furuhjelm, Germany *Grotenfelt, Livonia, Estonia *Järnefelt *Julin, von *Nordenskiöld *Schantz, von *Zilliacus, Livonia
Swedish-speaking Families historically involved with Industry and Commerce
*Families mentioned in Suomen Kansallisbiografia (the Finnish National Biography) *The years inside the brackets indicates the time of adoption of the current family name or the establishment of the family in Finland *The definition used in this article for the word gentry refers to people of high social class, especially in the past. Cambridge Dictionary