There is, in fact, a method to this Swedish gaiety. All Ikea products follow a system, adopted by the company's founder, Ingvar Kamprad, who found that naming products with proper names and words made them easier to identify:
Upholstered furniture, bookshelves, coffee tables, doorknobs, and media storage = Swedish place names
Hall furniture, beds, and wardrobes = Norwegian place names
Dining tables and chairs = Finnish and Swedish place names
Bathroom storage and accessories = Scandinavian rivers, lakes, and bays
Carpets = Danish place names
Bookcases = Occupations
Desks and chairs = Men’s names
Fabrics, materials, and curtains = Women’s names
Curtain accessories = Mathematical and geometrical terms, various adjectives
Bed linen, covers, pillows, and cushions = Plants, flowers, precious stones
Kitchens = Grammatical terms
Children's Items = Animals and adjectives
Lighting = music terms, seasons, months, days, chemistry, measures, weights, boats, nautical terms
Some given names used by Ikea:
| Agne Alex Alve Amon Andy Anssi Antonius Arvinn Benjamin Benno Bernhard Bertil Billy Bosse Börje Cyril Dave Edgar Elias Erik Erling Evert Fabian Feodor Franklin Fredrik Gilbert Glen Goliat |
Gorm Gregor Gulliver Gustav Harry Helmer Herman Hugo Ingemar Ingo Ingolf Ivar Jakob Janne Jeff Jerrik Jesper Joakim Johan Jonas Jules Julius Kaj Karsten Klemens Ludde Ludvig Malkolm Malte |
Manne Marius Markus Martin Matteus Micke Mikael Nandor Nils Nisse Norvald Oddvar Olle Omar Patrik Povel Rickard Roger Rudolf Rutger Serbastian Solvar Stefan Sten Terje Tobias Torbjörn Truls Volmar |
Admete Aina Alvine Amalia Andrea Anita Anja Annamoa Beata Berit Berta Bibbi Borghild Calypso Cecilia Cilla Ditte Dorthy Edit Eivor Elisabet Elly Emmie Evabritt Evalotta Felicia Fialena Fredrika Gilda |
Gunilla Gunvor Hedda Hildis Hjördís Hulda Indira Inez Inger Ingerlise Ingert Ingmarie Iris Irja Kajsa Kajsa-Stina Ketty Lena Lenda Lialotta Lilja Lill Maggan Majken Majvor Malou Maren Marete Mariam |
Matilda Margareta Märit Myrten Nordis Ofelia Patricia Petronella Ragna Ritva Rosmarie Sabina Sanela Sanni Saralisa Sarita Signe Sigrid Sissela Sofia Solveig Tanja Tekla Teresia Tidny Vivan Werna Wilma Zita |
Other possibilities:
Alster - "creation"
Asker - Norwegian city.
Bevara - "preserve"
Boren - Swedish lake
Bramsön - Swedish place.
Eina - Norwegian village.
Elgå - Norwegian village.
Fansta - Swedish place.
Finnvik - "Finn Bay," a place in Norway.
Florera - "flourish"
Florö - Norwegian peninsular.
Flyn - Swedish village.
Hedra - "honour"
Hemma - "home"
Hoven - Danish town.
Kilby - Swedish place.
Kullen - "The Hill." A Swedish place.
Laiva - "ship" (Finnish)
Levanger - Norwegian city.
Lovande - "promising"
Löva - "leafy"
Melodi - "melody"
Mosippa - the 'Anemone Vernalis' flower.
Norna - calypso orchid.
Olunda - Swedish place.
Persika - "peach"
Saxån - Swedish river.
Torsby - Swedish town.
Varsam - "careful"
For more delightful Ikea-isms, check out Lars Petrus' fabulous Ikea Dictionary.
