Pirjo is a Finnish female given name. Its

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

is celebrated on 7 October. It began to be used in the 1920s, and it reached its peak of popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. As of 2013 there are 34,650 women with this name in Finland.

Origin and variants

The name Pirjo originated as a short form of ''Birgitta'' and ''Piritta'', Finnish versions of

Brigid Brigid or Brigit ( , ; meaning 'exalted one'),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandaise ''B ...

. A common variant is ''Pirkko''.

Notable people

Notable people with this name include: *

Pirjo Ala-Kapee-Hakulinen Pirjo Anneli Ala-Kapee-Hakulinen (born 25 March 1944) is a Finnish politician who was the minister of education in the fourth cabinet of prime minister Kalevi Sorsa from 1986 to 1987. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she was also a memb ...

(born 1944), Finnish politician *

Pirjo Häggman Airi Pirjo Maritta Wilmi-Rokkanen (née Wilmi, formerly Häggman; born 8 June 1951) is a retired Finnish sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. Häggman was a member of the Finnish silver medal 4 × 400 m relay team at the 1974 European Ath ...

, Finnish sprinter *

Pirjo Honkasalo Pirjo Irene Honkasalo (born 22 February 1947) is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In 1980 she co-directed '' Flame Top'' with Pekka Lehto, with whom she worked ea ...

, Finnish filmmaker *

Pirjo Leppikangas Pirjo Elise Leppikangas (born 12 September 1987) is a Finnish football defender. She plays for PK-35 Vantaa in the Naisten Liiga. Club career Leppikangas has played for PK-35 Vantaa since their second division days and is their captain. In 2 ...

, Finnish football defender *

Pirjo Muranen Pirjo Muranen (née Manninen, born 8 March 1981 in Rovaniemi) is a retired Finnish cross-country skier. She won a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Muranen won five medals at the FIS Nordic World ...

, Finnish cross country skier *

Pirjo Ruotsalainen Pirjo Ruotsalainen (born 24 November 1944 in Viipurin maalaiskunta) is a Finnish orienteering competitor. She received a silver medal in the ''relay'' event at the 1966 World Orienteering Championships in Fiskars together with Anja Meldo and ...

, Finnish orienteering competitor *

Pirjo Seppä Pirjo Seppä (born February 8, 1946, in Virolahti) is a Finnish orienteering competitor and World Champion. She participated on the Finnish winning team in the 1972 World Orienteering Championships, and also won a silver medal in the individual c ...

, Finnish orienteering competitor

References

{{reflist Finnish feminine given names Feminine given names