The IKEA Naming System
I’ve always wondered what was the logic behind the name of some items at IKEA. They always have Scandinavian names but what do they mean? According to Wikipedia it turns out there is a format IKEA follows. Firstly most of the names are usually either Swedish, Danish, Finnish or Norwegian in origin. Secondly most of the names are based on a special naming system which IKEA has put in place and is as follows:
Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish placenames
Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names
Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names
Bookcase ranges: Occupations
Bathroom articles: Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays
Kitchens: grammatical terms, sometimes also other names
Chairs, desks: men’s names
Materials, curtains: women’s names
Garden furniture: Swedish islands
Carpets: Danish place names
Lighting: terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms
Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows/cushions: flowers, plants, precious stones; words related to sleep, comfort, and cuddling
Children’s items: mammals, birds, adjectives
Curtain accessories: mathematical and geometrical terms
Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions
Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks: colloquial expressions, also Swedish placenames
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14 Comments, add your own...
1. Latifa | January 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
That’s very interesting, thanks Mark.
2. Tat | January 9th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
What the hell is that? You became very boring.
3. BuJ | January 9th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
very interesting! i always wondered how they name them..
maybe they should use this system as a marketing tool.. these swedes are quite smart!
4. Holla | January 9th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Wow you must be really bored dude.
5. Hamad | January 9th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
i have always wondered to but never thought of asking or searching ..
amazing post ..!!!
6. Rashisha | January 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Thats amazing i have always wondered what was up with those names!
7. suspic | January 9th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Ikea’s actually translated to “overpriced crap that breaks”, but in ancient latin it means “stupid shit to build with useless guidelines”.
8. KWT23 | January 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
wow cool…thanks for sharing the info!
9. organic kuwait | January 9th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
i think its cute
10. Intlxpatr | January 9th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
That is amazing – how on earth did you think to ask Wikipedia? Fascinating information.
11. Mark | January 9th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Intlxpatr I didn’t, I found it on Digg.
12. 3azeez | January 9th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
now thats smart
13. balboa | January 9th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
WICKED
14. hamad | January 14th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Luke 11:9
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