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Tondi 
(Jobst Dunte, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5…)
Disappointingly, not from tont, ghost or specter, as local lore would have it, but after the summer estate (see Mõisa) of Jobst Dunte, which all seems nice and simple, but it’s not. Which Jobst (or Jost) Dunte (or Dunt or Dunten)? There are 5 recorded, leading to this breakdown:
Jobst Dunte 1, (d. 1579) came to Tartu from Hildesheim, Germany, date unknown, married mayor’s daughter, moved to Tallinn, and had 3 sons (suspects in bold):
Gert Dunte (d. 1641), various progeny, including grandson:
Jobst Dunte 4 (c. 1635-1697), Tallinn alderman (raehärra, some say ‘Mayor’) in 1670 and 1688-1696, landowner and trader, after whom Tondi Sub-district is said to be named. May once have lived at Viru tänav 20
Hans Dunte (1565-1641), moved to Riga so out of the story
Jobst Dunte 2 (1569-1615), Tallinn alderman, Rector of Niguliste church, member (?) of the ‘Mustpea’, Brotherhood of St. Maurice, or Blackheads (see Jüriöö), probably referred to as d. Ä., i.e. der Ältere (the Elder), although it could also be his father, had 3 sons:
Jobst Dunte 3 (d. 1624(?) or 1637), merchant, received Keila Mõis outside Tallinn as fief from King Gustaf II Adolf in 1630, sons knighted and ennobled in Sweden. Recruited craftsmen from Germany for church ornamentation. At times confused with this father.
Ludwig Dunte (1597-1639), clergyman, spoke 9 or 10 languages, churchmen offspring
Hans Dunte (d. 1640), various descendents including (grandson?):
Jobst Dunte 5 (1670-1710), Tallinn alderman (some say ‘Mayor’), said to be founder of Dunteni Suvemõis (see Dunteni) in Tondi.
Two candidates for both Tondi asum and Tondi tänav are often seen: 1) Jobst Dunte 4 of c. 1635-1697; and 2) Jobst Dunte 5 of 1670-1710. No clear candidate for Tondiraba. On the night of 1625-06-28/29, a fire in Viru tänav damaged (destroyed?) the house of a Jobst Dunte who, or whose son, later donated bells to Oleviste church in 1671 and 1694. While the donation dates coincide well enough with celebrations for JD4’s mayorship, he's too late for the fire, unless it refers to his son? To conclude: very little unequivocal data to confirm exactly who is who, and all-round confusion. Did I mention a breakdown? Given the inconsistency in dates, there may even have been a Jobst Dunte 6...
Getting back to ‘ghosts’, , although Estonians tend to translate tont (see Vaimu) as above, historically, it was more a house fairy, generally evil, often used as bogeyman for children, while its Swedish ancestor, tomte, was more benign. The more usual term for ghost is kummitus as in Estonia’s favorite tongue-twister: Kummikutes kummitus kummitas kummutis (ask someone to explain). Soviet occupation renaming (1950-1990): Matrossovi A..
Värsi (Värss)
1) Verse; 2) Steer, young bull. Renamed (1940-1941) after Juhan Liiv (1864-1913), poet, dark romantic and, during certain phases of his muddled mental existence, son of Tsar Alexander II, King of Poland, etc. Author of the moving Ta lendab mesipuu poole (paraphrasing: the bee flies back to the hive, a regular pollenizer at the Estonian Song Festival, Laulupeo). Died after being thrown from a train in mid-winter for not having a ticket. They took it so much more seriously in those days. First named as Koidula L. (1926-1959) with whom Liiv also, shall we say, identified. Briefly named Tähelennu (1959-1960), shooting-star or space flight, the space race was on, and changed to this in 1960, along with its parallel of Lauliku, so ‘verse’ it is.
Vilde E.
(Eduard Vilde, 1865-1933)
Prolific writer (33 volumes of novels, stories, plays, travelogues and humorous pieces), considered the first modern European in Estonia, and acclaimed as one of its greatest writers. See Piimamehe. A lifelong moderate socialist, Wilde spent three weeks on Ellis Island in 1911 while the Americans sniffed his credentials. There is a sculpture of him sitting next to his namealike Oscar Wilde outside the former Wilde printing house, now pub, in Vallikraavi (moat, counterscarp) in Tartu. See also Mahtra.
Kuhlbarsi F.
(Friedrich Kuhlbars, 1841-1924)
Schoolteacher and author of lyrics to Eestimaa, mu isamaa (Estonia, my fatherland), the Estonian Scouts’ anthem. Name probably from MLG kūlebārs (ruffe, Acerina cernua). Part responsible for various ‘mythological’ interpretations of Estonia’s past.
