There's a method to Ikea's madness!
Ikea is a place of many mysteries, from its one-way store paths and annoying (yet also satisfying) DIY product assembly to those famous Swedish meatballs coated in cream sauce. But the megastore’s most iconic quirk is arguably the funky way it names its inventory. I’ll never forget Tromsö, a bunk-bed set I bought for a rental—and a word so captivating that the kids ended up dubbing the house Tromsö too.
And there are many more like it, including Spetsboj (a lamp), Färgklar (dinnerware) and Storaklinta (a set of drawers). But these names aren’t just a random mishmash of letters or even the item names in another language. There’s actually a very deliberate and unique system behind Ikea’s product names—and we’re here to help you decode it.
Read on to learn what it all means, along with the backstory of Ikea’s naming practice, so you can appreciate the store a little more—even when you’re yelling at a jumble of wood pieces as you try to put together that “easy to assemble” side table.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more fun facts, humor, cleaning, travel and tech all week long.
What language are the Ikea product names in?
The language for lots of Ikea product names is Swedish. Of course, that befits the business, which was founded in Älmhult, Sweden, in 1943. But not all of them are in Swedish, as it turns out. Other Nordic languages—Danish, Norwegian and Finnish—are also featured in Ikea’s inventory line.
And what about Ikea itself? It’s not Swedish or Scandinavian—well, not exactly. It’s actually an acronym for the founder’s name, farm and hometown: Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd. Clever!
So what is the secret code?
The secret code actually starts with overarching categories that have a specific theme. For example, office furniture like desks and chairs tend to carry male names, while outdoor furniture is labeled for various islands in Scandinavia. Here’s the full breakdown:
- Bathroom items: Swedish lakes and bodies of water
- Linens: Flowers and plants
- Rugs: Danish places
- Bedroom and living room furniture: Norwegian places
- Bookcases: Professions and Scandinavian boys’ names
- Bowls and vases: Swedish place names, adjectives, spices, herbs, fruits and berries
- Boxes, pictures and wall decorations: Swedish slang expressions and Swedish place names
- Children’s products: Mammals, birds and insects
- Desks and chairs: Scandinavian boys’ names
- Fabrics and curtains: Scandinavian girls’ names
- Lighting: Units of measurement, seasons, months, days, shipping and nautical terms
- Sofas, chairs and dining sets: Swedish place names
Why is Ikea’s system like this?
Ikea’s naming system was created by founder Ingvar Kamprad. He was dyslexic and had difficulty remembering the seemingly random series of numbers attached to an item’s product code. To solve this problem, Kamprad decided to give each piece of merchandise a name instead. So, for instance, a chair came to be known as Ingolf, a boy’s name, and a line of soft toys is Djungelskog, which is Swedish for “jungle forest.”
Per the Ikea Museum, the ideal product names are between four and 12 letters long and include one of the three Swedish vowels, Å, Ä or Ö. The words can’t be trademarks, family names or anything inappropriate. Interestingly, in the more than eight decades since Ikea was established, there have been only a tiny handful of people in charge of the naming process, including Kampard, his cousin and two others.
Is this the only naming system for Ikea products?
Nope! The system noted above isn’t the only way products are named at Ikea. In fact, the well-known Billy bookcase seems to have been inspired by an Ikea employee, Billy Liljedahl, who was head of advertising in the late 1970s when the product was introduced. And others are named after their function, like the bright green colander Uppfylld, which holds veggies as you rinse them and translates, sensibly, to “filled with.”
What are some of the funnier Ikea product names?
The Ikea website is loaded with funny product names. Here are some of our favs and their meanings:
- Skarpö: An outdoor armchair … and also an island near Stockholm
- Småskrake: A cute children’s chair … and a red-breasted duck
- Bumerang: Clothing hangers … from the word for boomerang
- Hemnes: A bed frame … as well as a municipality in Norway
- Varmblixt: A popular mirrored light … that translates to “warm lighting”
- Aptitlig: A lazy Susan … from the Swedish for appetizing
- Stoense: A rug … and the name of a scenic destination on the island of Fyn in Denmark
Will this naming system ever change?
It’s unlikely that this special naming system will ever change. The folks at Ikea seem to get a big kick out of the fun inherent in choosing these tongue-tripping words for people outside of Scandinavia. Plus, customers seem to love the whimsical vibe of it—maybe even more once they’ve read this article and are in on the secret!
RELATED:
- Costco Code Words Every Shopper Should Know—One Lets You Know It’s Time to Stock Up on a Favorite
- 9 Disney Code Words You Never Want to Hear
- 11 British Royal Family Code Names You Never Knew About
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Sticky Branding: “How Ikea Names Its Products: It’s a Surprisingly Brilliant Naming System”
- Ikea: “The Story of Ikea”
- Ikea Museum: “Why Is It Called That?”
- Ikea Museum: “Billy”
