Indeed, it makes it sound like some elf language while it's actually just "river...

jeofken · on July 10, 2021

“Älv” can mean either river or elf, I think depending on tone?

En älva = one “elf” (Not like elves in Anglo fantasy novels)

When conjoining the a can be removed depending on dialect, thus älvdalen could mean elf valley. I don’t know the true history of the word though!

gerikson · on July 10, 2021

No, they are distinct words.

En älv - a river.

En älva - an elf or fairy.

Älvens strand - the side of the river.

Älvans öron - the ears of the elf.

Älvdalen - the valley of the river

Älvans dal - the valley of the elf.

Although they do seem to have similar Latin-Germanic roots, if one can decipher the ancient etymological book here: http://runeberg.org/svetym/1298.html

jeofken · on July 11, 2021

I disagree that “älvdalen” could not mean valley of the älvor.

gerikson · on July 13, 2021

Grammatically, yes but practically, no.

There are multiple rivers with "älv" as a suffix in Sweden, among them the biggest and most economically/historically significant. This means that any possessive formed by "älv-" automatically would refer to a river.

If you'd set your Swedish language fantasy world where there's a place called "Älvdalen", readers would be confused. It would be like calling Minas Tirith Stockholm.