Sápmi
/ˈsaːp.mi/noun
The traditional homeland of the Sámi people across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula.
Did you know?Sápmi is an endonym—a name used by the people themselves—while the English term “Lapland” comes from an exonym whose historical associations many Sámi consider outdated or othering.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Samic
Proto-Samic
*sāmē
“Reconstructed ancestral form associated with the Sámi people or their self-designation; its ultimate origin remains debated.”
Early Medieval period
Finnic
saame
“A Finnic term referring to the Sámi people; Finnish and Estonian preserve related forms.”
Medieval period
North Sámi
Sápmi
“The Sámi homeland or the land of the Sámi.”
Modern period
North Sámi
Sápmi
“The culturally and historically defined Sámi region spanning parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.”
Modern English
English
Sápmi
“A loanword used in English discussions of Sámi history, Indigenous rights, culture, and geography.”