Swedish retailer Ikea is known for the distinctive names of its flat-pack home products. The company’s Norway branch has built “a name bank” with over 800 listings available on its website. The names are drawn from ones Ikea has given to its furniture instead of product numbers since 1948.
“After all these years, (Ikea) has built up a large ‘catalogue’ to pick from,” Ikea Norway said in a statement.
Ikea names its products after Swedish towns, lakes and other geographical features, but also uses names that have traditionally gone to people. The branch noted that while retailers saw “both a shortage of raw materials and challenges with delivery times” during the COVID-19 pandemic, “there is at least no shortage of children” in Norway.
The Scandinavian country registered the births of 56,060 babies last year, or 3,081 more than in 2020. The increase creates “a challenge in finding unique names,” Ikea Norway said.
“Finding the name of the child can be both difficult and fun,” wrote Ikea Norway. “We at IKEA have given names to products for more than 70 years. So, if you are completely stuck, or just want some inspiration – here you will find over 800 boy names and girl names.”
Yes, the company has launched a baby name portal where parents can utilise the company’s naming perfection into finding a unique name. “Everything from popular Ivar to more rare names like Moalie,” Ikea expressed.
Other notable names in the 800-name catalogue include great names for babies like Bruno, Florin, Margit, Cilla, Dora, Figge, Hedvig, Isidora, Pippi, Wikki, and Zulu.
All of the names come attached to a photo of the furniture they are named after — and information about when the furniture itself was sold at Ikea. Some names are retro, dating back to the 70s, while others harken to more recent years like 2006.
