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The Finnish nobility was historically a privileged class in Finland, deriving from its period as part of Sweden and the Russian Empire. Noble families and their descendants are still a part of Finnish republican society, but except for the titles themselves, no longer retain any specific or granted privileges. A majority of Finnish nobles have traditionally been Swedish-speakers using their titles mostly in Swedish. The Finnish nobility today has some 6,000 male and female members.
The Finnish nobility is organized into classes according to a scheme introduced in the Act on the Organisation of the House of Nobility. The ranks granted were :
Under the above Act on the Organisation of the House of Nobility, the head of each family had a seat in the House. There also existed a proxy system according to which the head of the family could be represented by another male member of the same family or even by a male member of another family by proxy.
Finnish Dukes after the Middle Ages were always princes of the reigning family, and counted as such.