The Old Rautalampi Korhonen family association
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The Old Rautalampi Korhonen family association was established in Finland in 1951. All the Rautalampi Korhonens are descendants of Thomas Korhoinen (1520–1597). He settled in the wilderness of Central Finland where the rural municipality of Rautalampi was later established. The earliest written document of his land ownership dates back to 1553.
The association organizes family reunions every three years and excursions in the intervening years. In addition, the association publishes a family journal Wanha Tuomas once a year in Finnish and also helps the Korhonens to find their roots. The contact person for genealogical questions is Ilkka Korhonen, email address ilkka.t.korhonen@gmail.com.
Today, Korhonen is the most common surname in Finland. There is no explicit proof that all people with the surname Korhonen are related because the name itself is older than any written document. Furthermore, DNA tests show that a common ancestor for some of the Korhonens has lived more than a thousand years ago. A few Finnish onomasts and historians have hypothesized that some surnames of Finnish commoners may in fact be that old.